Cordero Rojo Mine

Located twenty-four miles southeast of Gillette, Wyoming, Cordero Rojo Mine is in the southern portion of the Powder River Basin. In 1993 Rio Tinto Energy America acquired the Cordero Mine from the Sun Oil Company. The company then purchased the adjacent Caballo Rojo Mine from the Marigold Land Company, a subsidiary of Drummond Company, Inc. in 1997. Rio Tinto Energy America merged the two facilities operationally.

Cordero Rojo mines the Wyodak seam, the principal economic coal seam in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin. The average seam thickness is between 55-70 feet. The typical average quality of the coal is 8,420 Btu subbituminous coal.

Cordero Rojo is permitted to mine 65 million tons of coal per year. Cordero Rojo sells its coal primarily to electric utilities in the southern and western United States.

As of December 31, 2006, Cordero Rojo Mine employs a union-free workforce of 541 employees. Cordero Rojo has won the Sentinels of Safety Award five times. The Sentinels of Safety is an award given by the U.S. Department of Labor. This award recognizes the surface coal mine in the United States with the best safety performance for the year.

2006 Awards received by RTEA
Other Awards received by RTEA