Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
The story of Alliance begins in 1971 when MAPCO Inc., then a Fortune 500 diversified energy company, entered the coal-production business, acquiring the Dotiki mine. This underground operation in Webster County, Kentucky, soon became, and remains to this day, one of the most productive coal mines in the country. By the time the company reached its silver anniversary, MAPCO Coal owned five mining complexes in three states — Kentucky, Illinois, and Maryland. It also owned the Mt. Vernon Facility, a rail-to-barge loading terminal on the Ohio River. Located in Indiana, the Mt. Vernon facility is capable of handling 8 million tons of coal per year. In 1996, management formed Alliance Coal Corporation and led a buyout of MAPCO Inc.'s coal operations with the financial support of The Beacon Group. Within two years, Alliance acquired Hopkins County Coal, a surface/underground operation in Hopkins County, Kentucky, and opened MC Mining, an underground mine in Pike County, Kentucky. In 1998, Alliance sold 15.1 million tons of coal and was recognized as the sixth-largest coal producer in the eastern United States.
During 1999, Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. was formed, and after completion of its initial public offering as a publicly-traded master limited partnership, acquired the coal operations of Alliance Coal Corporation. The new company soon broke ground for a new underground mining complex in Gibson County, Indiana. Production began at Gibson County Coal the following year. ARLP began a $30 million extension of its Pattiki mine in southern Illinois during 2000. Construction of a new mine shaft and ancillary facilities began in 2001 at the Dotiki mining complex. Both of these projects were completed during the second quarter of 2003 and positioned Alliance Coal to meet increasing demand for its coal. In 2002, management purchased all of The Beacon Group's interest in ARLP. The acquisition was not funded or secured with any of Alliance's assets.
Contact Details
Executives
Chairman
John P. Neafsey
President, CEO, and Director
Joseph W. Craft III
SVP and COO
Thomas M. Wynne