*Most of the top producing coal mine operators in the U.S. are publicly-traded firms: Peabody ( NYSE: BTW ), CONSOL ( NYSE: CNX ), Arch Coal ( NYSE: ACI ), Massey Energy ( NYSE: MEE ), Alliance Resources ( NYSE: ARLP ), Foundation Coal ( NYSE: FCL ), Jim Walters Resources ( NYSE: WLT ).  Murray Energy is another one of the top producers, but is not a public firm.