MILL CREEK, W.Va. – Keith Hargrove has been named president of Beckley, W.Va.-based Pocahontas Coal Company and Mill Creek, W.Va.-based Carter Roag Coal Company, both subsidiaries of United Coal Company.

Hargrove, a 30-year veteran of the Central Appalachia mining industry, previously served as president and general manager of Sapphire Coal Company in Whitesburg, Ky. Prior to joining Sapphire Coal, he served as director of process improvement for Lone Mountain Processing in St. Charles, Va., a subsidiary of Arch Coal, Inc.

“Keith’s understanding of the mining industry and his extensive background uniquely qualify him to assume this dual role,” says Michael Zervos, president and CEO of United Coal Company, headquartered in Teays Valley, W.Va. “We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber leading these growing companies.”

Hargrove’s mining career includes 16 years at Westmoreland Coal Company in Appalachia, Va., where he served in a variety of positions, including mining engineer, section foreman, mining engineering supervisor/senior mining engineer, health and safety specialist, and general mine foreman/shift supervisor. He joined Arch Coal in 1994 as engineering supervisor of the company’s Arch of Kentucky, No. 37 mine and later became senior planning engineer and manager of engineering and environmental affairs at the Lone Mountain facility.

“I look forward to working with the management teams at Pocahontas and Carter Roag,” Hargrove says. “Leading efficient, productive and highly safe work environments will remain a top priority. I am excited about our goals and what we can accomplish.”

A member of the Society of Mining Engineers, Hargrove earned a bachelor’s in mining engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va. He holds certifications as a professional engineer and an underground foreman in both Virginia and Kentucky.

Hargrove and his wife, Barbara, have two grown children and reside in Elkins, W.Va.

UCC is a privately held company with subsidiaries in West Virginia, Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.