Owners walk away from debt-ridden, unsafe Utah coal mine

Helper • Nearly five years after it was closed amid a swamp of defaulted debt and safety violations, Carbon County’s Horizon coal mine remains dormant while state regulators and federal land managers struggle to get owner Hidden Splendor Resources to pay reclamation costs and unpaid royalties.The mine sits about 11 miles west of Helper up the Consumers Road along a tributary of Gordon Creek, where sections of coal debris known as fines descend into a dilapidated retention pond.
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