This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

St. Louis-based Arch Coal Co. said Monday it has completed the sale of its Utah coal-mining operation, the state's largest, to Bowie Resources, LLC.

Announced June 27, the $423 million cash sale divests Arch of Canyon Fuel Co., which has three central Utah mines and more than 700 employees.

The Sufco mine in Sevier County has been the state's largest producer for years, yielding almost 5.7 million tons in 2012 — down from a high of 7.9 million in 2006.

Along with the Dugout Canyon and Skyline in Carbon County, Canyon Fuel's three mines produced more than 9 million tons last year.

Utah's total coal production was just shy of 17 million tons.

Based in Kentucky, Bowie Resources operates a coal mine outside the western Colorado town of Paonia. It produced 3.4 million tons last year and employed 355, sending a large share of its coal to the Tennessee Valley Authority.

When the sale was announced, Bowie Resources pledged to keep its Utah workforce intact.

This is Bowie Resources' second sizable investment in Utah.

In January 2013, its Bowie Refined Coal affiliate bought 10 coal-cleaning facilities from Headwaters Inc., a South Jordan-based building products company, for about $44 million.

Mike Gorrell