Mining Intelligence and News
United States

Kemmerer Mine

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Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Coal (thermal)
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Kemmerer mine produces sub-bitumous coal for electrical generation and industrial uses. It also feeds the nearby Naughton Power Plant which provides electricity for thousands of homes in the area.

In September 2024, a $30 million project to relocate 3 miles of US Highway 30 to access an additional 9 million tons of coal reserves was halted. The decision to stop the project was made due to the declining demand for coal, which made infrastructure investments economically unfeasible.

On March 21, 2025, Kemmerer Operations LLC announced the layoff of 28 employees, which accounts for approximately 13% of the total workforce at the mine. The layoffs were due to reduced demand for coal and the transition of the nearby Naughton coal power plant to natural gas, decreasing the need for coal supply.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Kemmerer Operations, LLC. (operator) 100 % Direct
During summer 2019 ownership of the Kemmerer Mine was transferred to the Kemmerer Operations LLC. from Westmoreland Coal Company.

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary

Summary:

The Kemmerer coal field extends from Lincoln County into northern Uinta County, and is part of the Hams Fork coal region in western Wyoming . It includes coals within the Upper Cretaceous Adaville and Frontier formations exposed within the Lazeart syncline, which is a long, narrow, north-trending fold that parallels thrust faults associated with Sevier deformation in the Overthrust belt. As a result of this deformation, coal beds in the area typically dip 20–30 degrees westward, and offset along faults ranges from several hundred to more than 4,500 m (about 15,000 ft; Rubey and others, 1975).

Coals in the Frontier Formation are divided into three stratigraphic coal groups: the Spring Valley coal group near the base (also known as the Carter coal group), the Willow Creek coal group in the middle of the formation, and the Kemmerer coal group (not to be confused with the Kemmerer coal field, a spatial designation that encompasses all mineable coal deposits in the Kemmerer area), which is in the upper part of the formation above the Oyster Ridge Sandstone Member. Spring Valley group coals are high volatile C bituminous (Townsend, 1960), and Willow Creek group coals are high volatile B to A bituminous (Berryhill and others, 1950). Coals in the Kemmerer group are high volatile B bituminous to high volatile C bituminous (Townsend, 1960). Most of these coals are less than 2 m (6 ft) thick (Glass, 1982).

In the Adaville Formation, coals are more common in the lower half of the unit, above the basal Lazeart Sandstone Member. Adaville Formation coals are thicker and more abundant than those in the Frontier Formation, but are lower rank, ranging from subbituminous B to C (Glass, 1982). The thickest Adaville coal bed, which is immediately above the basal Lazeart Sandstone Member, averages 24 m (80 ft) in the Kemmerer area (Glass, 1982).

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Commodity Production

CommodityUnits2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Coal (thermal) Mt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2.93.63.83.74.1
Heat ContentBTU/lb9,80010,0199,919
Sulfur%0.690.710.78
All production numbers are expressed as ROM coal.

Operational metrics

Metrics2024202320222021202020192018201720162015
Coal tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe3,243 k tons4,017 k tons4,224 k tons
Annual mining capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe7,000 k tons of ROM coal7,000 k tons of ROM coal

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jun 18, 2025
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jun 18, 2025

Workforce

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2024
...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required 2020
...... Subscription required 2019
...... Subscription required 2018
...... Subscription required 2017
...... Subscription required 2016

Aerial view:

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