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LOCAL <br />3 <br />N~o official word on reopening Empire <br />Br BRANDONJOBANSSON <br />. - DAItY PRFS$WRIIEN <br />With "the coal' market again <br />on the upswing, rumors are <br />circulating that the Empire <br />Mine south of Craig could <br />reopen. <br />The, mine" closed in 1995 <br />because the' coal it produced <br />couldn't :compete with higher <br />Btu: coal from. other Colorado, <br />mines. <br />But no official plans are <br />on the ~fiook to re-open the <br />mine; owned by RAG Empire <br />Corporation. <br />Janet Binns, environmental <br />protection "specialist with the <br />Colorado. Division of Minerals <br />and Ceology said she was in <br />Craig recently but had not heard <br />anything official. <br />'At this point, they haven't <br />given us any indication that <br />anything.is happening in the <br />near fufure," Binns aid. <br />Tfie .mine,, which. had more <br />than 200 employees;; shut down <br />in December" 1995, just tfiree <br />years aftbr workersahere went <br />on one.of"ahe.longest strikes in <br />From.IVfay 1,991 to'April 199,2, <br />workers from United Mitie <br />Workers `Local 1799 went on <br />strike, rejecting a new contract <br />that would have forced tfiem to <br />pay. a portion 'of their health <br />care benefits, ; " <br />When work resumed at the <br />coal mine, the company ha_d lost <br />contracts and only a Few strik- <br />ing employees got their jobs <br />back. <br />When the mine`'shut down, <br />it was owned by Cyprus/Amax <br />Mining corporation, which said <br />the coal didn't have enough <br />market value to keep, the. mine <br />running.. <br />But since then, the market for <br />coal, even lowet Btu coal such as <br />that at Empire, has improved. <br />Stuart Sanderson, presi- <br />dent of the Colorado Mining <br />Association, said high Btu coal <br />is stilt the most valuable; but <br />low Biu coal is also desirable. <br />"The general demand for <br />"Colorado coal overall has <br />increased," Sanderson said. <br />Sanderson said . he didn't <br />know anything abddY reopen- <br />ing Empire. He-also said he <br />couldn't determine whether <br />".the improved market for coal <br />could "justify reopening the <br />-mine. <br />"The decision to-reopen the <br />mine is a company specific deci- <br />sion," Sanderson said. <br />The mine, which sits near <br />Colorado Highway 13 south of <br />Craig, still has equipmenton it. <br />Moffat County Treasur0r <br />Robert Raziand 'said' RAG has <br />been paying taxes on the prop= <br />erty regularly Next year, RAG <br />will owe $58,870.21 in,taxes. <br />Brandon Johanson can be <br />reached ar 824-7031 or bjoleans <br />son@craigdailypress. com <br />