Bluestone Coal is in the final stages of reclaiming the former Mine 32 site near Keystone, company officials report, as visible seeding and landscape restoration appear across the property. The Justice family, which owns Bluestone Coal, has shepherded the project through intensive grading and revegetation activity, and the company says five additional projects in McDowell, Raleigh and Wyoming counties are also moving toward final reclamation status.

Over the past six months, crews have concentrated on reshaping disturbed terrain and planting cover to stabilize soils and reintroduce vegetation. Company statements describe the work as returning "hundreds of acres" of previously mined land back to a more natural condition and fulfilling environmental obligations tied to historic mining operations. Visual evidence in the field — newly contoured slopes and bands of seeded ground — underscores that the work is advanced rather than nascent.

For McDowell County residents, the Mine 32 reclamation carries both practical and symbolic significance. Practically, final reclamation reduces erosion, limits sediment runoff into local streams, and addresses long-standing safety hazards of unreclaimed portals and spoil piles. Symbolically, the work signals a phase in the county’s long transition away from active coal extraction toward post-mining uses of the landscape. Restored tracts can offer possibilities for forestry, wildlife habitat, and in some cases recreational or community uses, though conversion to any specific use typically requires coordination with landowners, regulators and local planning bodies.

The reclamation push also reflects broader economic and regulatory dynamics. As coal production levels have shifted over recent years, more former mine sites across Appalachia have entered reclamation phases required under state and federal mine reclamation rules. For local contractors and crews, reclamation work generates short-term employment and contracting opportunities, while the longer-term economic benefits depend on how reclaimed land is repurposed and whether investment follows in complementary sectors such as outdoor recreation, forestry or conservation.

Bluestone’s projects span three counties, meaning local officials and residents from McDowell to Raleigh and Wyoming will be watching how restored parcels are managed after final certification. Final reclamation typically also involves inspections and documentation to satisfy regulatory agencies that environmental and safety objectives have been met.

As work wraps up at Mine 32, the visible change on the landscape is a tangible reminder of both the environmental costs of decades of mining and the multi-year process required to repair those impacts. For communities that have been defined by coal, reclamation is a necessary step toward reshaping land use and economic opportunity in the years ahead.