In May 2011, the School of Medicine and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics of West Virginia University received a $5 million donation from Cline through his Cline Family Foundation. Ĭline defended coal as a source of low-cost energy, saying in a 2010 interview "As far as the social acceptability of coal, I like to think I’m part of supplying the cheapest energy in America." Philanthropy Ĭline purchased a Nova Scotia metallurgical coal mine after selling off Foresight stock, as well as rights to coal reserves in Western Canada. Illinois environmental groups and landowners attempted to block Cline's coal mine operations, and also sought to draw attention to his local political contributions.
In the same report, Cline's representatives stated he was aiming for an annual coal production of 60 million tons from his Illinois operations. The company SNL Financial reported in 2008 that Deer Run coal mine in Montgomery County, Illinois, a project of Cline's Hillsboro Energy LLC, would produce up to eight million tons annually until 2016. In 2005, Cline Group built its Williamson longwall mining operation south of West Frankfort, Illinois. Cline, who spent $300 million on mining rights and equipment in Illinois in the 1990s, had foreseen that the United States Environmental Protection Agency would require power plants to use scrubbers in removing pollutants, which would bring coal back into viability for electricity generation. However, Illinois coal has too much sulfur to be burned by most power plants because of pollution control requirements. In 2017, the state consumed nearly $1.4 billion of coal, with coal mining operations located in 12 counties. Illinois holds a 250-year supply of coal, providing the state with the largest recoverable coal reserve in the United States. Cline sold off most of his share of Foresight in 2015, for $1.4 billion. Foresight Energy went public in 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2006 he organized Foresight Energy to manage his Illinois Basin coal rights. In 1980 at age 22, Cline became an underground miner and founded his own energy development company, the Cline Group in 1990. In 1980, Cline's father bought out his partner then gave the shares to Cline, who was then 21 years old.Ĭline studied psychology at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. According to Cline, his father had told him to "support the roof better". Within two years, their porch had collapsed. His father used the dirt bags in mine-blasting.
Cline dug the dirt from under the porch of their bungalow in Isaban, West Virginia. At the age of six, Cline's father, Paul, asked him to fill a paper bag with dirt, paying him a penny for each bag.
Ĭline's grandfather mined for coal with a pickaxe around Beckley, West Virginia, in the early 20th century. Early life Ĭline was born in Beckley, West Virginia, on July 5, 1958. His company has over three billion tons of coal reserves across Illinois and northern Appalachian Mountains. Regarded by Bloomberg as the "New King Coal", Cline was considered to have been responsible for reviving the Illinois coal industry. He had been the majority owner of Foresight Reserves LP, headquartered in St. The Chris Cline Athletic Complex at Marshall University in 2021.Ĭhris Cline (July 5, 1958 – July 4, 2019) was an American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist.
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