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Arch spokesperson Kim Link told ILN that the operation voluntarily evacuated the mine Tuesday morning and MSHA was notified of the incident.
The event may have occurred in a section recently longwall mined.
While MSHA did not immediately respond with comment, spokesperson Amy Louviere told local newspaper the Salt Lake Tribune that a closure order was issued by an inspector while the company works to rectify the issue.
No one was injured in Tuesday’s incident.
“Mine personnel continue to monitor the situation in an effort to determine next steps,” Link told ILN, adding that no further information was available on the closure timeline.
The closure is the second in less than two months for Dugout Canyon; a similar incident on April 29 in another part of the mine idled production until MSHA approved resumption of normal mining on May 21.
The Carbon County mine, operated by Arch subsidiary Canyon Fuel, employs 275 people. The complex produced 3.3 million tons of coal in 2009.
During the first quarter of the year alone, Dugout Canyon produced about 200,000T of low-sulfur bituminous coal monthly, or about 2% of Arch’s total production.
