Coal Could Spur Job Growth In LeFlore County

A southeastern Oklahoma mining company is planning on opening an underground coal mine in LeFlore County, which means new jobs.

On its web site, Ouro Mining, Incorporated says it is proposing to mine a coal seam east of Heavener which it says contains an estimated 65-million tons of coal.

LeFlore County commissioner Lance Smith told KFSM, the CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, 400 new jobs is good news for their county.

"With the closing of Johnson Controls, Wertz Cracker and Whirlpool, we've had several things close here in just the last few years and it's cost a lot of people their jobs," said Lance Smith.

Ouro Mining says there is a surging demand for high grade coking coal.

"400 hundred jobs would be tremendous for LeFlore County," Lance Smith said. "There aren't very many opportunities that come along where a company wants to employ 400 people in the county. That's really big for LeFlore County to get 400 jobs."

The mining company says the proposed mine is near a railroad and the McClellan Kerr Navigation Channel.