The Company's operations are located in the Central Appalachian coal basin, which contains some of the highest quality reserves in the region. James River Coal Company ("James River" or "Company") was formed in 1988 to acquire certain coal mining operations (McCoy Elkhorn Coal Corporation ("McCoy Elkhorn") and Bell County Coal Corporation ("Bell County")) and a coal sales company (Blue Crystal Coal Sales Company, now James River Coal Sales, Inc.) from Transco Coal Company. Since 1988, the Company has established a very competitive position in eastern Kentucky through a series of acquisitions, including that of Johns Creek Coal Company (1992), Kinney Branch Mining, Inc. (1994), Leeco, Inc. ("Leeco") and Bledsoe Coal Corporation ("Bledsoe") (1995), Blue Diamond Coal Company ("Blue Diamond") (1998), Shamrock Coal Company (1999) and Triad Mining ("Triad") (2005). The Company expanded into southern West Virginia with the acquisition of IRP ("Hampden") (2011) which also added metallurgical coal to their portfolio.

For more information on James River Coal’s subsidiaries, please click on the specific mine of interest above.