King University is expected to conduct a report to weigh potential Economic options for southwest Virginia if coal production continues to decline. After the latest King economic institute report it’s believed that coal production across central and southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia could decrease up to 50-percent over the next 20 years. The latest King mining report shows the coal industry providing 7-percent of the employment in southwest Virginia alone while affecting 17-percent of all other jobs in southwest Virginia, including equipment providers, transportation, contracting, restaurants, grocery stores and other service-oriented businesses. This latest report entitled "Economic Impacts of Job Losses in the Coal Mining Industry" claims that 127 people are employed indirectly for every 100 miners employed. That report focused on the southwest Virginia counties of Lee, Buchanan, Dickenson, Scott, Wise, Russell and Tazewell. Alpha Natural Resources of Bristol has already instituted a gradual plan to cut 10 percent of its workforce and close several mines in the area. (bg)