International Coal Group

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International Coal Group, Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: ICO)
Founded	Acquisition of many assets of Horizon Natural Resources at bankruptcy auction (May 2004)
Headquarters	Teays Valley, West Virginia
Key people	Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Chairman Bennett K. Hatfield, President/CEO
Industry	Coal mining
Products	Coal
Revenue	$647.7 million U.S dollars (2005) homepage = www.intlcoal.com
Employees	1,425 (2004)

International Coal Group, Inc. NYSE: ICO (also known as ICG) is a mining company in the United States that produces coal from 12 mining complexes in Northern and Central Appalachia (Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia) and from one complex in the Illinois Basin. The company is now headquartered in Teays Valley, West Virginia.

[edit] History

ICG was formed in May 2004 by investor Wilbur Ross, who led a group that bought many of Horizon Natural Resources' assets in a bankruptcy auction. Ross, originally operating as Newcoal LLC with four other investors, expressed interest in buying Horizon's nonunion properties, but not its six union operations. Horizon was then allowed to sever its union contracts, including pension benefits, by bankruptcy court, according to the Associated Press in the story "Coal Miners Lose Health Benefits" on August 9, 2004.

In March 2005, ICG agreed to acquire Anker Coal Group, Inc. {In its third quarter report dated October 26, 2005, ICG reported, "All conditions to closing the acquisitions have been satisfied other than effectiveness of the related registration statement."

[edit] Sago Mine disaster

ICG operates the mine in Sago, West Virginia where at approximately 6:30 a.m. on January 2, 2006, 13 coal miners were trapped after an explosion in the Sago Mine disaster. Twelve miners were later found to have died, while one survivor was taken to a hospital in critical condition. ICG faced controversy after an initial report claimed 12 of the trapped miners had been found alive. A fund to support the families of the miners has been started. ICG gave an initial donation of $2 million, their competitor, Massey Energy, has donated $250,000, and many citizens have made donations, bringing the total of the fund to roughly $3 million.