Alpha officials called the Kentucky May coal property, which has been sold to a private producer for $13 million in cash, a “non-strategic block” and said it expected a gain for the fiscal quarter of about $11 million before taxes.

The 17.6 million tons of reserves in the sale are part of an acquisition Alpha completed in May 2006 from Progress Fuels. That $26.7 million package included approximately 73Mt of reserves as well as other assets.

“The reserve block being divested was isolated from Alpha's coal processing and transportation infrastructure and thus was never considered strategic,” officials noted.

In the meantime, Alpha's Enterprise Mining subsidiary is working to complete infrastructure work and has commenced initial production from a 35Mt block of coal from that same Progress transaction.

It is anticipated the new EMC No. 9 underground operation will realise about 1Mt in 2009 as it ramps up, then 1.7Mt in 2010.

Alpha also said Monday that it had sold off its Gallatin Materials lime interest to a private lime producer for an undisclosed amount. The company had a 77.5% interest in the Gallatin joint venture and said it should see a pre-tax gain of $14 million in its third quarter from the sale.

Alpha’s coal portfolio consists of 58 mines in four states feeding 11 coal preparation and blending plants.