Bowie cuts coal production at No. 2 mine: UpdateOREANDA-NEWS. October 01, 2015. Bowie Resource Partners will reduce production at its Bowie No. 2 mine in Colorado and lay off more than half of the operation's workforce for at least a year.

Bowie is making the cuts as it changes its longwall and evaluates the coal market. It did not say how much production would be affected.

The layoffs will be effective on 30 November and "could be permanent," the company said in a warning notice filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment today.

It should take about a year to move the longwall to a new panel and bring it into commercial operation, Bowie said.

The mine accounted for 5.7pc of western bituminous coal output last year, producing 2.4mn short tons (2.18mn metric tonnes). But output has decreased dramatically in recent quarters after the mine lost a major contract.

Bowie No. 2 mine produced only 240,825st in the second quarter of this year, 60pc less than in the first quarter and less than one-fourth of output from April-June of 2014. If production for the final months of this year is reduced by half, in line with the announced workforce cuts, the mine will produce only 1.29mn st this year. Production will be "scaled back" while the company idles its current longwall panel operation and develops the new one, Bowie said.

The company "continues to evaluate the market for Bowie No. 2 coal."

Bowie No. 2 has production capacity of 5mn st/yr.

The company said that it will relocate as many employees as possible. But it will lay off 19 contract workers and 78 full-time positions at the mine. The total workforce as of yesterday's announcement was 181 full-time employees and 19 contractors.

Bowie could not be reached to comment.

The company scaled back production at Bowie No. 2 by 1mn st/yr last October after the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) suspended its coal purchase contract. Until then, TVA had traditionally been the biggest buyer of Colorado coal.