Company calls back laid-off coal miners

The James C. Justice Companies announced Thursday that subsidiaries of it and Southern Coal Corp. are calling back about 300 miners who had been laid off.

The companies had temporarily idled several mines in five states in January because of weak demand for coal, according to a statement. But demand has increased for metallurgical coal used to make steel.

The companies employ about 1,500 people in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.