Halldor will close the Prosperity (above) and Freelandville surface mines and refocus production at its two remaining underground mines. (Photo: Hallador Energy)
Hallador Energy announced a restructuring of the company’s Sunrise Coal Division in Indiana. “As we transition Hallador from a coal production company to a vertically integrated independent power producer, we will idle production at our higher cost Freelandville and Prosperity mines, reduce our capital reinvestment for coal production in 2024 by approximately $10 million, and focus our seven units of underground equipment on four units of our lowest cost production,” said Brent Bilsland, CEO, Hallador Energy. “We will further improve the cost structure of these units by increasing their run time from five and a half days per week to seven days per week. We expect our coal production to generate 4.5 million tons annually.”
As a result, the company said it will reduce its workforce by 110 employees. The decision will be based on job category and personal performance ratings and will primarily affect Sunrise Coal employees.
Last year, Hallador produced 6.62 million tons and employed 752 to do it, according to data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).
The Freelandville and Prosperity mines are small surface operations that employed 20 to 32 respectively in 2023. In 2023, the Prosperity mine produced 139,000 tons and the Freelandville mine produced 90,000 tons. Both mines had limited reserves remaining.
The Sunrise Coal Division also operates the Oaktown Fuels Nos. 1 and 2 mines. In 2023, the Oaktown Fuels No. 1 mine produced 3.93 million tons and employed 386 people and the Oaktown No. 2 mine produced 2.46 million tons and employed 314 people.
