Billionaire financier Wilbur Ross, who created a powerhouse from the remnants of shattered steelmakers, is trying to do the same in the coal industry by rehabilitating mines such as the one in West Virginia where 13 miners were trapped since Monday morning.

Anker Coal's Sago Mine is a small cog in Mr. Ross' International Coal Group, conceived in 2004 when the New York financier's group of investors acquired Horizon Natural Resources, a two-time bankrupt coal mine operator, for about $291 million. Anker, a bankrupt producer that rang up losses of $14.5 million in the first nine months of last year, and CoalQuest were acquired in November.

International Coal Group now has reserves of nearly 900 million tons of coal, enough to last 61 years at current production levels. It posted revenue of $580.2 million in the first nine months of last year.

The coal gambit mirrors what Mr. Ross did in steel, another industry that was down in the dumps and rebounded dramatically following his acquisitions.

Mr. Ross' International Steel Group acquired bankrupt producers such as LTV Steel and Bethlehem Steel at what, in hindsight, were bargain basement prices. The deals were concluded only after the United Steelworkers union agreed to more favorable contracts and billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities had been dumped on the federal government.

Last year, Mr. Ross sold International Steel Group for $4.5 billion to Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, a deal that created the world's largest steel producer.

Mr. Ross' coal miners don't belong to the United Mine Workers or another labor union. Horizon's pension plan, which had an $87 million deficit, was assumed in 2004 by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the federal agency that steps in when companies can't keep their retirement promises.

When it raised $210 million last month in a stock offering, International Coal Group boasted it has lower post-retirement benefit obligations than its publicly traded competitors.

The launching of the company coincided with stronger industry economics. Between January 2004 and early last month, prices for Central Appalachian coal, the company's main product, increased 66 percent, the company said.

U.S. coal consumption totaled 1.1 billion tons in 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst David Khani said demand rose about 3 percent in 2004 and nearly as much last year compared with normal growth of 1.5 percent to 2 percent.

It is rising for a number of reasons, including increased output in the manufacturing sector, where coal is a prime fuel. Nuclear power plants also are operating at near capacity and prices for oil and natural gas, two other energy alternatives, have spiked. Finally, the weaker U.S. dollar has stimulated demand overseas for coal.

Mr. Khani said recent growth has sparked a new wave of hiring in an industry where the average miner is 45 to 50 years old. Coal producers weren't expanding in the 1990s because prices were depressed and profit margins were thin.

"It's almost like there's a void right in the middle," Mr. Khani said. "You have the low 20s, the 40s and 50s, and nothing in the middle, which is purely a function of the marketplace."

Mr. Ross, who retooled steel mills and dramatically increased production, expects to do the same with his International Coal Group. The company, which produces 18 million tons annually, expects to double production levels over the next seven years. It also has plans to sell methane gas that abounds in coalbeds.

International Coal Group shares were thinly traded until they moved to the New York Stock Exchange last month. They closed yesterday at $9.36, down 14 cents.