Operations

New Elk Coal is committed to the responsible mining of steelmaking coal, also known as coking or metallurgical coal, which is required for steel production. The mine is located 25 miles west of Trinidad, in Las Animas County, Colorado, where mining has long been part of the region’s history. New Elk Coal sits within the Raton Basin, which has an estimated 15 billion metric tonnes of coal and has been actively mined for 150 years.

The site was historically mined under the name of Allen Mine, which first began production in 1951, and exchanged hands in later years, taking on the name of New Elk. Allegiance Coal acquired the mine in 2020.

New Elk Coal is an underground mine using the room and pillar system, which is the predominant coal mining method in the United States. Coal deposits are mined by cutting a network of rooms into the coal, leaving pillars to support the roof of the mine.

The coal is washed at our processing facility, then transported by BNSF or UP rail to McDuffie Coal Terminal in Mobile, Alabama where we can blend the coal with our Black Warrior Mine to best suite our customers needs. Our coal is then exported to the global seaborne market from Mobile, however, other port options include Pasadena Deepwater Terminal in Houston, Port of Los Guaymas in Mexico and Convent Marin Terminal in New Orleans.

The coal is currently being transported in trucks along Highway 12 to the Jansen Yard load-out facility, south of Trinidad, Colorado. During which time, a railway spur extending from the mine to the rail load-out facility is being rebuilt. Once complete, coal will be loaded into unit trains at the mine, and transported directly to the marine terminals. At full operation, is it expected to have one unit train with approximately 120 railcars per week.