Half of Dugout Canyon mine’s employees laid off

Almost half of the Dugout Canyon coal mine’s workforce was laid off Thursday, when Arch Coal Inc.’s Utah subsidiary announced it was reducing production at the mine outside of Wellington in Carbon County. The subsidiary, Canyon Fuel Co., said 114 jobs were being eliminated because of “continuing weakness in coal demand in the region.” The company plans to halt Dugout Canyon’s longwall mining operations, the main source of its coal production, in the first half of 2012 when the voracious machine completes excavating the section of Book Cliffs seam where it is now working. Salt Lake Tribune

Consol to idle Utah's Emery Mine near Price

Consol Energy Inc, announced it would idle its Emery Mine near Price, Utah, and furlough the approximately 170 workers there starting in December. Company officials say the coal mine has about 250,000 tons of coal on hand that have not been sold. The company said it does not know when the mine will reopen. Deseret News