Canyon Fuel Company

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This page was last updated on August 23, 2023.

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Overview

Canyon Fuel Company first came to Utah with its purchase of the coal properties of the Coastal States mines in 1996.

Coastal States departed from Utah with the sale in 1996 of its coal mining properties to Canyon Fuel Company, a new company owned jointly by Arco Coal (65%) and Itochu of Japan (35%).

(Read more about Coastal States)

The sale to Canyon Fuel in 1996 included four coal mining properties in Utah: Soldier Creek Coal Company; Sage Point Coal Company; Southern Utah Fuel Company; Skyline Coal Company; along with Coastal Development Company, and Utah Fuel Company. (Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining, Permit C0070039; Dugout Canyon Mine)

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.

Soldier Creek Coal Company became Soldier Canyon Mine through the merge and subsequent sale of Coastal Coal, Inc. on or about December 20, 1996.

Abbreviated Corporate Timeline for Canyon Fuel (former Coastal States)

(Any and all documents on file in any location bearing the name(s) Coastal States Energy Company, and/or Soldier Creek Coal Company, PacifiCorp, Arco, or Arch Minerals, etc. should be understood and changed to read with the name Canyon Fuel Company, substituting for any and all of these other entities, which have been merged into Canyon Fuel Company.)

Coastal States -- 1973 to 1996

Canyon Fuel and Arco Coal -- 1996 to 1998

Canyon Fuel and Arch Coal -- 1998 to 2013 (Arch sole owner after 2004)

Bowie Resources -- 2013 to 2018

Wolverine Fuels -- 2018 to (present)

Canyon Fuel 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)

Southern Utah Fuel Co. (Sufco)

Utah DOGM Coal File C0410002

Development began in 1910, by Southern Utah Fuel company; production began in 1911; sold to Coastal States in 1973

(Read more about the Sufco mine)

Trail Mountain Mine

Utah DOGM Coal File

Development began in 1975; sold to Diamond Shamrock in 1985; sold to Arch Mineral in 1987; sold to Arco Coal in 1987; sold to PacifiCorp in 1992; sold to Bowie Resource Partners in 2014, changed to Wolverine Fuel in 2018.

(Read more about the Trail Mountain mine)

Timeline

Canyon Fuel and Arco Coal, 1996

December 20, 1996
Canyon Fuel Company, a new company owned jointly by Arco Coal (65%) and Itochu of Japan (35%), was the result of the merger of Coastal States Energy Company with four coal mining companies in Utah, including Soldier Creek Coal Company; Sage Point Coal Company; Southern Utah Fuel Company; Skyline Coal Company; along with Coastal Development Company, and Utah Fuel Company. (Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining, Permit C0070039; Dugout Canyon Mine)

"Effective December 20, 1996, Canyon Fuel Company, LLC was formed as a joint venture between ARCO Uinta Coal Company (65% ownership) and ITOCHU Coal International Inc. (35% ownership) for the purpose of acquiring certain Utah coal operations and an approximate 9% interest in Los Angeles Export Terminal, Inc. from Coastal Coal, Inc. and The Coastal Corporation." (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

(Read more about the Soldier Creek mine)

(Read more about the Skyline mine)

Canyon Fuel and Arch Coal, 1998

Arch Coal

July 1, 1997 -- Arch Coal was formed by the merger of Ashland Coal, Inc., and Arch Mineral Corporation. (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

Arch Coal was formed in July 1997 through the merger of publicly traded Ashland Coal, Inc. and privately held Arch Mineral Corporation. Arch Mineral had its origins in 1969, when it was formed as a partnership between Ashland Oil and the Hunt family of Dallas, Texas; Ashland Coal was formed in 1975 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ashland Oil. With the completion of the merger, Arch became the leading producer of low-sulfur coal in the eastern United States. (Arch Coal, Inc. web site, www.archcoal.com/aboutus/history.aspx - no longer available)

March 23, 1998
Atlantic Richfield announced that it would sell its coal mining operations in Utah and Colorado to Arch Coal, Inc., for a reported $1.14 billion, making Arch the second largest coal mine operator in the nation, selling 110 million tons of coal per year, about 10 percent of the nation's total. (Deseret News, March 23, 1998)

April 23, 1998
Utah state regulators were informed of the intended change of ownership of 65 percent interest in the Dugout Canyon mine, from Arco Coal, as a subsidiary of Atlantic Richfield, to Arch Coal, as a subsidiary of Arch Minerals. Canyon Fuel company would remain as the active mining company. (Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining, Permit C0070039; Dugout Canyon Mine)

June 1, 1998
Effective June 1, 1998, Arco Coal company sold its 65 percent interest in Canyon Fuel to Arch Western Resources, LLC." (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

Arch Coal and Arco Coal

June 1998
Arch Coal purchased Arco Coal's 65 percent interest in Canyon Fuel Company, which operated three longwall mines in Utah (Sufco, Skyline, and Dugout Canyon). (Arch Coal, Inc. web site, www.archcoal.com/aboutus/history.aspx; accessed April 16, 2016)

June 1, 1998
Effective June 1, 1998, Arco Coal company sold its 65 percent interest in Canyon Fuel to Arch Western Resources, LLC." (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

June 1, 1998
Arch Coal acquired the Colorado and Utah coal operations of Atlantic Richfield Company (Arco) and simultaneously combined the acquired Arco operations and the Arch Coal's Wyoming operations with Arco's Wyoming operations in a new joint venture named Arch Western Resources, LLC. The principal operating units of Arch Western are:

-- Thunder Basin Coal Company, LLC, owned 100% by Arch Western, which operates two coal mines in the Southern Powder River Basin in Wyoming;
-- Mountain Coal Company, LLC, owned 100% by Arch Western, which operates one coal mine in Colorado;
-- Canyon Fuel Company, LLC, 65% owned by Arch Western and 35% by ITOCHU Coal International, Inc., a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, which operates three coal mines in Utah;
-- Arch of Wyoming, LLC, owned 100% by Arch Western, which operates two coal mines in the Hanna Basin of Wyoming.
-- The purchase agreement was signed on March 22, 1998.
-- (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

January 1, 1999
Arch Coal signed a contract with Intermountain Power Agency to supply 2.2 million tons of coal per year, through 2010, with an option to supply the same amount through 2015. (Arch Coal, Inc., SEC Form 10K, dated March 2, 1999)

July 15, 2004
"Arch Coal, Inc. announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Itochu Corporation's 35% interest in Canyon Fuel Company, LLC for a contract price of $112 million. With the completion of this transaction, Canyon Fuel will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Coal." "Canyon Fuel owns and operates two longwall mines in Utah - Sufco in Sevier County and Dugout Canyon in Carbon County. In addition, the company owns the currently idle Skyline mine, which also is located in Carbon County. In total, Canyon Fuel controls approximately 161 million tons of high-quality, low-sulfur coal reserves in Utah. In 2003, Canyon Fuel produced approximately 13.0 million tons of coal." The sale was completed on July 29, 2004. (Arch Coal, Inc., press release dated July 15, 2004, "today")

Bowie Resource Partners, 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 Creek mine in Soldier Canyon, 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.

In 2018, Bowie Resources Partners was reorganized at Wolverine Fuels.

(Read more about Bowie Resource Partners and later, Wolverine Fuels)

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