CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A $90 million investment that runs against the trend of coal bankruptcies and mine closures should enable two new coal mines and related facilities to open in West Virginia and Virginia next year, coal developer Ramaco Development and partners announced today.

The mines would extract metallurgical coal, the type used for steel production. Most metallurgical coal mined in the U.S. is exported overseas.

Kentucky-based Ramaco’s partnership with two private equity firms will directly create some 400 jobs, said Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins.

The Elk Creek Mine in southern West Virginia and the Berwind Mine spanning the boundary between southern West Virginia and Virginia will be operational for around 17 years. Test mining at both sites should begin by early next year and work on the Elk Creek Mine’s coal preparation plant will start even sooner, according to Ramaco.

The company plans to begin talking with potential buyers in the next few weeks and could begin shipping coal under supply agreements in 2018, he said.

Over the past year, bankruptcy reorganizations by major companies including Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Peabody Energy have roiled the U.S. coal industry.

Low prices for natural gas and looming greenhouse-gas regulations are causing many utilities to turn away from coal as their fuel of choice for generating electricity. Coal-fired power capacity is down 15 percent nationwide since 2011, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Long-term, Ramaco seeks to produce up to 4 million tons from the two mines per year.