Bowie Resource Partners
Index For This Page
This page was last updated on December 31, 2024.
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Overview
Bowie Resource Partners came to Utah in 2013 with the purchase of the Canyon Fuel properties from Arch Coal Company.
On June 27, 2013, Arch Coal. Inc. agreed to sell Canyon Fuel Company (Dugout Canyon Mine, Banning Loadout, Sufco Mine, Skyline Mine and Soldier Canyon Mine) to Bowie Resources. The sale was finalized on August 16, 2013.
On December 12, 2014 PacifiCorp agreed to sell its Trail Mountain mine to Bowie Resource Partners. The sale was finalized on June 5, 2015. "In the future the Trail Mountain Mine will be referred to as the Fossil Rock Mine. The Fossil Rock Mine is owned by Fossil Rock Resources, which is wholly owned by Canyon Fuel Company."
Fossil Rock Resources was organized in Delaware on August 29, 2014 and is owned 100 percent by Canyon Fuel Company. Canyon Fuel Company was organized in Delaware on December 10, 1996, which in turn is owned 100 percent by Bowie Holdings.
Bowie became Wolverine Fuels on October 15, 2018.
Through a series of company ownership and control, Wolverine Fuels' top-level parent company is Trafigura Beheer BV, which is headquartered in Netherlands.
December 2023
"Wolverine Fuels' SUFCO mine in Sevier County was Utah's top producing coal mine in 2022 with 3.9 million tons, and Wolverine's Skyline #3 mine, which crosses Emery and Sanpete counties, was second with 2.5 million tons." (Salt Lake Tribune, December 21, 2023, on the occasion of number 3 producing mine, the Lila Canyon mine being shut due to a fire)
Bowie/Wolverine Properties
Banning Loadout
Utah DOGM Coal File C0070034
Opened in 1979 by Soldier Creek Coal Company; closed in 2000 by Arch Coal
(Read more about the Banning Coal Loadout)
Dugout Canyon Mine
Utah DOGM Coal File C0070039
Development (roads, etc.) started in 1996 by Canyon Fuel; production started in 1998 by Canyon Fuel
(Read more about the Dugout mine)
Skyline Coal Project
Utah DOGM Coal File C0070005
Development started in 1980; production started in 1982 by Coastal States
(Read more about the Skyline mine)
Soldier Creek Coal Co.
Utah DOGM Coal File C0070018
Development began in 1975; production began in 1976, by Soldier Creek Coal Company
(Read more about the Soldier Creek mine)
Sufco (Southern Utah Fuel Co.)
Utah DOGM Coal File C0410002
Development began in 1910, by Southern Utah Fuel company; production began in 1911
(Read more about the Sufco mine)
Timeline
Bowie, 2013
August 16, 2013
Bowie Resource Holdings completed its purchase of 100 percent interest of Canyon Fuel Company, a subsidiary of Arch Coal Company. The purchase included the Soldier Canyon mine, along with the Dugout Canyon mine, the Banning loadout, the Sufco mine, and the Gordon Creek mines (previously owned by Mountain Coal Company). The purchase agreement was first signed on June 27, 2013.
August 19, 2013
"Arch Coal, Inc. today announced that it has completed the sale of its subsidiary, Canyon Fuel Company, LLC to Bowie Resources, LLC for $423 million in cash. The sale includes the Sufco and Skyline longwall mines, the Dugout Canyon continuous miner operation and approximately 105 million tons of bituminous coal reserves, all located in Utah." (Arch Coal, Inc., press release dated August 19, 2013, "today")
September 3, 2013
The first four coal-hauling trucks made the first trips down the newly completed Quitchupah Creek Road. The new road shortens the distance between the Sufco coal mine and the three coal-fired power plants in Carbon and Emery counties that are three of Sufco's largest coal customers. (Richfield Reaper, September 4, 2013)
(The three active coal mines in Utah owned by Bowie included the Sufco mine near Salina, the Skyline mine in Pleasant Valley, and the Dugout Canyon mine northeast of Price.)
October 31, 2017
Failed Sale -- A news item dated October 31, 2017 stated that Bowie Resource Partners was to be sold to a consortium made up of Murray Energy (30.5 percent), a former Bowie CEO (30.5 percent), and the other 39 percent made up of a wide variety of lenders and investors that included Javelin Global Commodities, and Grupo CLISA. The new holding company was to be known as Canyon Consolidated Resources and would own and control the three largest coal mines in Utah. However, the sale fell apart in less than a month and did not materialize. Bowie Resource Partners continued its operations, at least in Utah, for another year. (Salt Lake Tribune, October 31, 2017; Wall Street Journal, November 21, 2017)
Wolverine Fuels, 2018
October 15, 2018
Bowie Resource Partners, LLC, has changed its corporate name to Wolverine Fuels, LLC. The change included a new office location in Sandy, Utah. (Wolverine Fuels press release dated October 15, 2018)
The following comes from the November 8, 2018 issue of the Sanpete Messenger newspaper:
Bowie appointed a new chief executive officer, and last month it announced it would change its name to Wolverine Fuels, LLC and move its headquarters from Grand Junction, Colo. to Sandy.
Newly appointed Wolverine Fuels CEO James Grech said, "This move will allow the executive team to be closer to our mines, our workforce and our customers."
In regards to the name and location, Grech said, "In conjunction with the recent management changes and recapitalization of the company, we wanted to offer our employees a fresh start and new identity with the name change. Our workforce is tough and resilient, very much like a wolverine, so we think our new namesake will resonate very well with our employees and the communities in which we operate."
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