US coal producer Wolverine Fuels has reopened Utah's Fossil Rock mine, which had sat idle for 23 years, after the state's coal output fell to its lowest level since 1992.
Wolverine subsidiary Fossil Rock Resources, which owns the mine, "has produced minimal quantities of coal as a result of its rehabilitation efforts" at Fossil Rock, Wolverine vice-president of commercial operations Patrick Barrett said.
The underground mine is located in Emery County, Utah, and last produced coal in 2001. Wolverine, formerly known as Bowie Resource Partners before rebranding in 2018, acquired the mine from PacifiCorp's Energy West Mining, nine years ago.
Fossil Rock produced 8,611 short tons (7,811 metric tonnes) of bituminous coal in the third quarter, according to MSHA. The producer had around 76 workers at the mine last quarter, up from an average of 34 in the second quarter. Wolverine will mine coal at the Fossil Rock mine in small quantities this year. Then the plan is to have a full longwall panel developed and ready to put in place in the next two years.
US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) officially changed the status of the mine to "active" on 4 September.
Back in February, US utility PacifiCorp amended its coal supply agreements with Wolverine for its Hunter and Huntington coal-fired power plants to accommodate anticipated output from Fossil Rock. The coal supply agreement contemplated coal from Fossil Rock being shipped to the Hunter plant, although coal could also be directed to the Huntington plant as needed.
PacifiCorp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Wolverine's initiative to reopen Fossil Rock comes in the wake of a September 2022 fire at American Consolidated Natural Resources' Lila Canyon mine, which is also located in Emery County. That mine was closed in January 2024. Fossil Rock hired some of Lila Canyon's former workers and purchased some of its equipment.
The closure of Lila Canyon dealt a blow to Utah coal production. Output in the second quarter of this year fell to 1.03mn st, down by nearly 35pc from the same period in 2023. That was the lowest quarterly production since the fourth quarter of 1992.
Some of Lila Canyon's former customers, including 1,800MW Intermountain Power plant, had to use more Colorado, Wyoming and Illinois basin coal this year.
The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity on 11 July awarded Wolverine a post-performance tax credit that was tied to Wolverine's plans to add jobs in Emery County over the next five years.
