Alpha Natural Resources is selling a collection of closed coal mines as it revamps its business in bankruptcy. At least 16 idled mines in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois are being put up for sale in Alpha’s chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding , which began in August. The company has set a Jan. 20, 2016, target date for bids and would like to seek a bankruptcy judge’s approval for sales by February, according to papers filed Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va. Alpha is one of a number of coal mining operations to take shelter in bankruptcy in a bid to weather widespread distress in the market . This week, the company said it expects to have a draft business plan ready by the end of October. Shedding unprofitable assets is part of that plan, the company said. Many of the mines have already been marketed. […]