Colorado coal production — hobbled by mine closures and a decline in demand for power-plant coal — hit a 20-year low in 2013.
The state’s nine mines produced 23.8 million tons of coal, according to the federal Energy Information Agency, a 17 percent decline from 2012 and down 41 percent from the 2004 peak. In 1993, the state produced 21.9 million tons.
“It has been a rough year, and there were a number of factors,” Colorado Mining Association president Stuart Sanderson said.
Mines closed, the winter of 2013 was mild, a key contract was cut, coal lost in the market place to natural gas, and policies at the state and local level hurt coal, Sanderson said.
The closure of the Elk Creek Mine in Paonia and the New Elk Mine in Trinidad accounted for about 60 percent of the drop, Sanderson said.
