Coronado Global Resources Inc. furloughed over 600 employees at its Buchanan No. 1 mine in Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy was informed Dec. 16 that employees at the metallurgical coal mine would be "furloughed until a trade deal was reached between the U.S. and China on coal exports," an official with the agency told S&P Global Market Intelligence on Dec. 23. The agency was informed Dec. 23 that the mine would return to full production on Jan. 1, 2020.

The Buchanan mine is the largest producer of coal in Central Appalachia and was bought by Coronado from Consol Energy Inc. in 2016.

Coronado has touted that the mining complex has the lowest cost among U.S. metallurgical coal mines. For the 12 months ended with the third quarter, the company increased coal production by 2.9% compared to the prior 12-month period.