GILLETTE, Wyo. — Arch Resources is giving $500,000 to the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources to support its work in carbon management and land reclamation practices, the university announced Monday.
The gift will augment the Arch Clean Coal Technology Fund, which Arch established more than 10 years ago, the university’s news release said. The State of Wyoming matched the endowment at the time.
Arch operates the Black Thunder and Coal Creek mines in Campbell County. The coal producer employs more than 1,100 people. For more than 50 years, Arch has paid bonus bids, royalties, ad valorem taxes and severance taxes that have resulted in more than $4 billion in revenue for the state and Campbell County while paying more than $3 billion in wages and benefits to its Wyoming-based workforce, according to the release.
“The School of Energy Resources is focused on supporting the state’s energy sector, including to minimize the impact of energy production while maintaining and preserving Wyoming’s natural environment,” SER Executive Director Holly Krutka said in the release. “We are incredibly grateful to Arch for its commitment to support the state of Wyoming and for this generous gift that will allow us to work toward important environmental applications such as reducing global CO2 emissions and optimal approaches to reclamation.”
Arch CEO and President Paul Lang said the company is demonstrating its appreciation of Wyomingites and its partnership with the State of Wyoming with the gift to the School of Energy Resources.
Arch has also established an industry-first thermal mine reclamation fund for completing reclamation at its Wyoming operations. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality recognized Arch’s reclamation of the Coal Creek mine with the 2022 Excellence in Mining Reclamation Award for Coal.
“We view world-class reclamation as an essential component of the mining process,” Lang said. “We believe that our job — as a responsible natural resource company — is to leave the land in a natural and highly productive condition that can benefit greatly future generations. Just as important, we are committed to remaining engaged with the state and the surrounding communities for as long as it takes to ensure that we achieve a positive outcome on this front.”
Lang is a former chairman of the Energy Resource Council board that governs the School of Energy Resources.
