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PRICE, Utah (AP) -- Murray Energy Corp. has reopened the West Ridge coal mine, calling back 160 miners, two days after it shut down the mine.
The company idled the Carbon County mine on Monday when a longwall mining machine encountered unexpectedly high concentrations of ash in the coal it was excavating.
But Intermountain Power Agency says it's willing to take the inferior coal and blend it with better coal for its power plant, for the sake of keeping the miners employed.
The IPA is a half-owner in the West Ridge mine and a major recipient of its coal.
IPA coal asset manager Lance Lee said ash isn't a pollution problem, but adjusting for it can increase the cost of producing electricity.
Murray Energy Corp. operated the Crandall Canyon coal mine where six miners and three rescuers died in separate cave-ins in August. That mine remains closed. The company also owns a third mine in the coal belt of central Utah.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
