Virginia businessman’s sole bid wins Wyoming mine

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - A coal mine in southwest Wyoming has a new owner.

According to documents filed in bankruptcy court in Texas on Tuesday, Virginia businessman Tom Clarke was the sole bidder for the mine in Lincoln County.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports Clarke’s company, Western Coal Acquisitions Partners, will purchase the Kemmerer mine from Westmoreland Coal Co. for $7.5 million in cash, a $112.5 million senior secured promissory note and a $95 million junior secured promissory note.

Clarke’s firm will also assume the Kemmerer coal mine’s liabilities, minus contested costs of continuing health care benefits for retirees and their dependents. A union contract is also voided in the sale.

Westmoreland filed for bankruptcy in October, citing about $1 billion in debt and a troubled coal market. The mine employs about 300 workers.

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com