Arch Coal's Canyon Fuel Company subsidiary today announced that its Dugout Canyon mine in Carbon County, Utah, has restarted its longwall mining system and is in the process of resuming production.

After production was interrupted on June 22, the company worked closely and cooperatively with the Mine Safety and Health Administration to assess the situation and restart the mine.

Mr Gene DiClaudio president of Arch Western Bituminous Group said that "We want to extend our great appreciation to the MSHA team for its diligence and hard work during the outage.”

More than 100 of Dugout Canyon's 275 employees are returning from other company operations in Utah and Colorado where they had been working on temporary assignment. Mr DiClaudio said that "We were pleased so many Dugout employees offered to work at other locations while the mine was idle.”

Dugout Canyon mine produces approximately 2 percent of Arch's total annual output. Arch's Canyon Fuel Company is the largest coal producer in Utah and operates the Sufco, Skyline and Dugout Canyon mines with a total workforce of approximately 800.