Peabody Energy is closing it's Willow Lake coal mine in southern Illinois.
The Saint Louis based energy company made the announcement public Tuesday. Willow Lake employs about 400 workers at the Saline County mine. Most are expected to be affected by the closure. Peabody subsidiary Bay Ridge Incorporated operates the mine. Peabody says it is permanently closing the coal mine because of safety, compliance and performance issues. The mine has incurred a series of accidents and worker fatalities. The latest accident occurred on November 17th and took the life of Chad Meyers of Goreville. Meyers was killed after being pinned by a continuous mining machine he was operating.
Peabody shares fell 23 cents to $24.38 in trading Tuesday.
