President Donald Trump hailed the opening Thursday of a new coal mine as proof deregulation is helping bring jobs to the industry, even though plans for the mine's opening were made well before Trump's election.

Corsa Coal Corp. will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate up to 100 fulltime jobs. The company said it decided in August to open the Acosta mine 60 miles south of Pittsburgh after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal.

Under a tent perched hundreds of feet above a freshly dug coal pit, about 200 miners, business leaders, and politicians celebrated amid the surge of enthusiasm for the industry. Mining headgear lay atop red, white, and blue table cloths labeled "Make Coal Great Again."

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said the mine was part of an effort to bring back jobs and industry to the state. Pennsylvania awarded a $3 million grant for the project.

"We have not always capitalized on our standing as one of the world's leaders in these resources, but we're changing that," Wolf said.

Trump has made reversing the decades-long decline in coal mining the central tenet of his environmental policy, blaming federal regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming carbon emissions for job losses in the industry. Trump and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt have targeted laws that protected waterways from coal waste and required states to slash carbon emissions from power plants. About a dozen protesters chanted in opposition to the mine at the opening.

Trump noted the impending opening of the mine last week during his speech announcing the nation's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. He said then he had hoped to attend the event; he participated via recorded video message, taking partial credit for the opening.

Friedens, Pennsylvania – June 8, 2017

1. Governor Wolf takes stage

2. SOUNDBITE (English), Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania (D) :

"This mine will help support this community, and its workforce, and its families by providing jobs and opportunities to an area that desperately needs both."

3. Wolf getting into his car

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania (D) :

"In the past, we have not always capitalized on our standing as one of the world's leaders in these resources, but we're changing that. My administration has worked hard to support projects that bring downstream benefits to Pennsylvania back to Pennsylvania, so that no longer do we pull our resources out of the ground and simply ship them off to support jobs and industries in other places in the world."

5. Tight of Wolf

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, President of the United States, via taped recording: "The miners of Pennsylvania are digging coal again. When I campaigned for president, I said that we would end the war on coal, and put our incredible miners – and that's what you are, you're incredible – back to work."

7. Wide of people watching Trump recording

8. SOUNDBITE (English), Donald Trump, President of the United States, via taped recording:

"One by one we're eliminating the regulations that threaten your jobs, and that's one of the big reasons you're opening today: less regulation."

9. End of recording, pan of audience applauding

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Donald Trump, President of the United States, via taped recording:

"We have withdrawn the United States from the horrendous Paris climate accord, something that would have put our country back decades and decades"

11. Wide of mine officials holding up banner reading "Trump digs coal"

12. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, CEO of Corsa coal: "On the strength of a strong steel market, government regulatory reforms, and a global scarcity of metallurgical coal, there's a renewed sense of economic optimism. Coal prices have risen to high levels not seen in several years."

13. Ribbon cutting

14. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, CEO of Corsa coal: "For all the pain and suffering we endured during the downturn – laying off employees, idling operations – it makes a day like today that much more rewarding."

15. Applause at end of Dethlefsen speech

16. Tight of miner hardhat with "Make coal great again" on front

17. Wide of mine viewing platform

18. Various of protest signs, protest site

A new coal mine that President Donald Trump mentioned in announcing plans to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord has officially opened in Pennsylvania.

The Acosta Mine will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate up to 100 full-time jobs. It's located in Friedens, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

A Thursday celebration marked its opening.

Corsa Coal Corp. says it decided in August to open the mine after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal. Pennsylvania awarded a $3 million grant for the project.

George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO, says even though the mine is not for conventional coal, it still give the industry hope there is a bright future for coal.

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts or infrastructure spending, all of those things affect our future outlook for prices," said Dethlefsen.

Neil Donahue, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, doesn't think the mine opening signals a big change for the industry.

"The mine has to do with making steel, so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity," said Donahue.

Donahue thinks that no matter how pro-coal the current administration is, the fact remains that coal is more expensive than some of the alternatives.

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make King Coal, King Coal again. I think in the short term, allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due cost of that pollution – sure, that'll helped out. I'm suspicious that it'll help them out to the point where they suddenly become competitive against natural gas," said Donahue.

No matter what the mine says about the broader future for coal in the U.S., the workers in the Acosta Mine say the opening makes them more optimistic about the future of their profession.

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did," said Matt Owens, one of the mine's safety coordinators.

Friedens, Pennsylvania – June 7, 2017

++ SOUNDBITES PARTIALLY COVERED BY FOOTAGE OF MINE ++

1. Wide of coal pit

2. Sequence of lifter moving concrete blocks

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Shawn Petree, new mine superintendent:

"The industry stays on the up rise here, all the guys that work here appreciate having the opportunity to have a job, number one, and everybody's kind of excited to open a new one up."

4. Various of mine

5. Various of Dethlefsen

6. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The metallurgical coal industry that sells into the steel market is experiencing a period of very high prices, and has been over the last seven or eight months, so the decision for us to open this mine is an economic decision"

7. Shot of mine worker

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Pistorius, professor of steelmaking research at Carnegie Mellon:

"The metallurgical coal, as it's called, is a particularly niche market which is really just mined for iron making, to make coke, so it really is a separate product entirely."

9. Dethlefsen in mine

10. SOUNDBITE (English), George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts and infrastructure spending, all of those things impact our future outlook for prices"

11. Various of mine

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"The mine has to do with making steel, and so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has almost nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity."

++WHITE FLASH++

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make king coal, king coal again. I think in the short term, reducing, essentially allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due share of the cost of that pollution – sure, that'll help them out. I'm suspicious that it won't help them out to the point that they suddenly become competitive against natural gas."

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Owens, mine safety coordinator:

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did."

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Owens, mine safety coordinator:

"We're hoping to be here another 15 years, we're hoping it's a good coal mine, that we can load a lot of coal out of it, close for our homes so it's an easy commute, so yeah, we want to be here."

16. Various of mine

A new coal mine that President Donald Trump mentioned in announcing plans to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord has officially opened in Pennsylvania.

The Acosta Mine will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate up to 100 full-time jobs. It's located in Friedens, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

A Thursday celebration marked its opening.

Corsa Coal Corp. says it decided in August to open the mine after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal. Pennsylvania awarded a $3 million grant for the project.

George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO, says even though the mine is not for conventional coal, it still give the industry hope there is a bright future for coal.

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts or infrastructure spending, all of those things affect our future outlook for prices," said Dethlefsen.

Neil Donahue, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, doesn't think the mine opening signals a big change for the industry.

"The mine has to do with making steel, so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity," said Donahue.

Donahue thinks that no matter how pro-coal the current administration is, the fact remains that coal is more expensive than some of the alternatives.

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make King Coal, King Coal again. I think in the short term, allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due cost of that pollution – sure, that'll helped out. I'm suspicious that it'll help them out to the point where they suddenly become competitive against natural gas," said Donahue.

No matter what the mine says about the broader future for coal in the U.S., the workers in the Acosta Mine say the opening makes them more optimistic about the future of their profession.

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did," said Matt Owens, one of the mine's safety coordinators.

Friedens, Pennsylvania - June 7, 2017

1. Wide of coal pit, US flag draped over wall

2. Various of lifter moving concrete blocks

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Shawn Petree, new mine superintendent:

"Hopefully the industry stays on the up rise here, all the guys that work here appreciate having the opportunity to have a job, number one, and everybody's kind of excited to open a new one (coal mine) up."

4. Petree getting onto a vehicle

5. Various of Dethlefsen

6. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The metallurgical industry that sells into the steel market is experiencing a period of very high prices, and has been over the last seven or eight months, so the decision for us to open this mine is an economic decision."

7. Tight of coal with Dethlefsen in background

8. Mine worker

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Pistorius, professor of steelmaking research at Carnegie Mellon:

"The metallurgical coal, as it's called, is a particularly niche market which is really just mined for iron making, to make coke, so it really is a separate product entirely."

10. Dethlefsen talking to worker

11. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts or infrastructure spending, all of those things effect our future outlook for prices."

12. Various of mining equipment

13. Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"The mine has to do with making steel, so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity."

15. Donahue speaking to man

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make king coal, king coal again. I think in the short term, reducing, essentially allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due share of the cost of that pollution – sure, that'll help them out. I'm suspicious that it won't help them out to the point where they suddenly become competitive against natural gas."

17. Various of mine workers

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Owens, mine safety coordinator:

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did."

19. Various of workers putting down concrete blocks

20. Various of mine

A new coal mine that President Donald Trump mentioned in announcing plans to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord has officially opened in Pennsylvania.

The Acosta Mine will supply coal used in making steel and is expected to generate up to 100 full-time jobs. It's located in Friedens, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

A Thursday celebration marked its opening.

Corsa Coal Corp. says it decided in August to open the mine after a steel industry boom drove up prices for metallurgical coal. Pennsylvania awarded a $3 million grant for the project.

George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO, says even though the mine is not for conventional coal, it still give the industry hope there is a bright future for coal.

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts or infrastructure spending, all of those things affect our future outlook for prices," said Dethlefsen.

Neil Donahue, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, doesn't think the mine opening signals a big change for the industry.

"The mine has to do with making steel, so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity," said Donahue.

Donahue thinks that no matter how pro-coal the current administration is, the fact remains that coal is more expensive than some of the alternatives.

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make King Coal, King Coal again. I think in the short term, allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due cost of that pollution – sure, that'll helped out. I'm suspicious that it'll help them out to the point where they suddenly become competitive against natural gas," said Donahue.

No matter what the mine says about the broader future for coal in the U.S., the workers in the Acosta Mine say the opening makes them more optimistic about the future of their profession.

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did," said Matt Owens, one of the mine's safety coordinators.

Friedens, Pennsylvania - June 7, 2017

1. Wide of coal pit

2. Various of lifter moving concrete blocks

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Shawn Petree, new mine superintendent:

"Hopefully the industry stays on the up rise here, all the guys that work here appreciate having the opportunity to have a job, number one, and everybody's kind of excited to open a new one up."

4. Petree getting onto a vehicle

5. Various of Dethlefsen

6. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The metallurgical industry that sells into the steel market is experiencing a period of very high prices, and has been over the last seven or eight months, so the decision for us to open this mine is an economic decision."

7. Tight of coal with Dethlefsen in background

8. Dethlefsen talking to worker

9. Mine worker

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Pistorius, professor of steelmaking research at Carnegie Mellon:

"The metallurgical coal, as it's called, is a particularly niche market which is really just mined for iron making, to make coke, so it really is a separate product entirely."

11. Dethlefsen talking to worker

12. SOUNDBITE (English) George Dethlefsen, Corsa CEO:

"The war on coal is over, creating a climate of pro-business and pro-steel, whether that's the trade tariffs, or whether that's just fostering economic growth through tax cuts or infrastructure spending, all of those things effect our future outlook for prices."

13. Various of mining equipment

14. Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"The mine has to do with making steel, so it has some significance to the steel industry – it has nothing to do with the bigger questions about coal. Almost all coal – the enormous majority of coal – is burned for electricity."

16. Donahue speaking to man

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Donahue, professor of chemistry, engineering, and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University:

"I think people should be extraordinarily skeptical that the president can snap his fingers and make king coal, king coal again. I think in the short term, reducing, essentially allowing coal mines and coal power industries to pollute without paying us the due share of the cost of that pollution – sure, that'll help them out. I'm suspicious that it won't help them out to the point where they suddenly become competitive against natural gas."

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Owens, mine safety coordinator:

"There was some doubt, I won't lie, we doubted if we were going to have jobs or if the company was going to make it, but they did."

19. Various of workers putting down concrete blocks

20. Various of mine