PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Several West Virginia coal companies with ties to Gov. Jim Justice plan to resume coal production at four surface mines in Eastern Kentucky, bringing 150 new jobs to the region.

Justice’s son Jay, president of the Justice Companies, said it was working to reopen the production sites at the Bevins Branch and Beech Creek mines in Pike County, the Bull Creek mine in Knott County and the Infinity mine in Harlan County.

Justice said reopening the four mines in Eastern Kentucky was possible due to the nation’s economic recovery. Coal production in Eastern Kentucky was up nearly 46 percent in the April-to-June quarter compared to the same time a year earlier.

The Infinity and Bevins Branch mines were among five in a 2019 lawsuit settlement by the state of Kentucky against Jim and Jay Justice and several other family coal companies.