Last week, Bloomberg ran a story about my home state entitled, "Bust Hits America's Cowboy Coal Basin After 40 Years of Boom: Wyoming Cash Cow is Hobbled by Three Bankruptcies, 1,100 Job Cuts."

Wyoming has led the nation in coal production since the late 1980s and currently mines nearly half of the nation's coal. As noted in the article, the Powder River area boomed for 40 straight years primarily from the coal industry.

The article starts out by saying that "[t]he last bastion of the American coal industry has been breached." Sad but true – the coal bust that the Appalachia region has been going through for years was delayed in reaching the Cowboy State.  Until now...

Why wasn't Wyoming impacted at the same time that Appalachia was?

Wyoming's coal resource is of a cleaner quality than that of Appalachia coal – it is considered clean burning and more environmentally friendly than other forms of coal.  As discussed by the Wyoming Mining Association's 2016-217 Concise Guide to Wyoming Coal, which can be found here, Wyoming coal has a low sulfur composition.

What are the Takeaway Points from the article? 

  • Despite its cleaner quality, Wyoming's coal output is said to drop about 100 million tons this year.
  • The Powder River Basis has never really busted before, but this year has been characterized as a "total collapse."
  • "Since last fall, 1,100 workers, or 17% of the mining workforce, have lost their jobs, leaving the industry and the economy reeling."
  • "Through Sept. 10, coal output in Wyoming, the biggest U.S. producer, is down 25% from a year earlier."
  • Wyoming folks continue to look for other ways to diversify the state's economy and find other revenue streams.

Diversifying Wyoming's Economy Continues to be a Hot Topic

The Jackson Hole News & Guide published an interesting article today entitled, "Author Sam Western urges new take on Wyoming Economy" that discusses a class that Western is teaching at Sheridan College that focuses on the state's economy.  The class, titled "The New Wyoming Narrative," is said to explore a new conversation on Wyoming's economic future.  I am so happy to see leaders in Wyoming encouraging residents to take an active role in reshaping the state's economy.

The Cowboy State is sure to have a bright future ahead...and many are working hard to make that happen.

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