Murray purchase from rival Consol increases company's southern Illinois coal holdings

A leading U.S. coal company says it has added roughly 100 million tons of coal reserves and resources to its southern Illinois portfolio.

Ohio-based Murray Energy says it bought those assets in Hamilton and Saline counties from Consol Energy of Pennsylvania. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Murray says the acquired property and rights are adjacent to a mine operated by subsidiary American Coal Co.

Murray says the deal increases its coal reserves to three billion tons. The company has a dozen mines in Illinois and five other states.

Murray is among the coal industry's most vocal opponents of federal regulations. In May, the company filed a lawsuit challenging new rules to reduce coal dust in coal mines, saying they are overly burdensome and costly to the industry.