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Trinidad coal mine closes for 60 days <br />The New Era nine, owned by a Toronto -based corporation, has "temporarily <br />laid -off" 78 percent of its workforce as it looks to review its business model. <br />By Howard Pankratz The Denver Post <br />Toronto -based Cline Mining Corp. said <br />Wednesday that it will temporarily suspend pro- <br />duction at the New Elk Coal mine near Trinidad. <br />The move, which will result in layoffs for ap- <br />proximately zoo employees, sent shock waves <br />through the southern Colorado town. <br />"The impact on the city is going to be tremen- <br />dous," said Steven Kelly, director of Trinidad -Las <br />Animas Economic Development Inc. "It has <br />been devastating to us. We are losing tax dollars, <br />and the housing market is going to go berserk." <br />Kelly said that at around 6 a.m. Wednesday, <br />miners and other employees were called into a <br />meeting. By the end of the meeting, 200 employ- <br />ees were told they were being furloughed for 6o <br />days, Kelly said. <br />By mid - afternoon, miners were leaving town, <br />telling their property managers they couldn't af- <br />ford to stay, Kelly said. <br />He said there had been no rumors of a layoff. <br />In a press release announcing the suspension <br />of mine activities, Cline said that 78 percent of its <br />workforce was being "temporarily laid -off" for <br />6o days. <br />That will give the company time to pursue <br />"strategic alternatives, potential financing and <br />complete sale of the coal in inventory as part of <br />the review process," the company said in the re- <br />lease. The company did not comment beyond <br />the press release. <br />Cline said while it anticipates that the duration <br />of the layoffs will last for approximately 6o days, <br />the variability of market conditions and other <br />economic factors "make it impossible to project <br />an exact personnel return date with certainty." <br />Several weeks ago, between 3o and 5o mine <br />employees were laid off, the result of plunging <br />prices for coal. The same factor may be part of <br />the explanation for the new, larger employment <br />cuts, although management shake -ups in the <br />company may have also contributed, said Kim <br />Schultz, executive director of the Trinidad and <br />Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce. <br />"This hurts the town tremendously," said <br />Schultz. "Any loss of dollars is tremendous. We <br />have such a small town." <br />Ken Bates, president and chief executive of <br />Cline Mining, said in the company's statement <br />that the board of directors "felt it prudent to <br />make these decisions given current market con- <br />ditions, which preserves the company's fmancial <br />condition as we move forward toward complet- <br />ing the mine review and optimization process, <br />which we believe will make certain the long- <br />term viability ... of the New Elk coal mine " <br />Shares of Cline, traded on the Toronto Stock <br />Exchange, plummeted 43 percent Wednesday. <br />Howard Pankratz: 3 <br />hpankratz @denverpost.com or <br />twitter.com/howardpankratz <br />