According to local outlets, including the Salt Lake Tribune, the Hidden Splendor Horizon complex near Price is now being ordered to pay $230,929 in past-due royalties for the operation; the arrearage stems from a three-month period in 2012 at the rate of $8 per ton.
Additionally, for five years, Hidden Splendor reportedly failed to forward rent payments to the BLM totaling $3 per acre. The agency has since filed documents in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City against the now-shuttered mine.
“It is imperative that energy companies operating on federal lands abide by the terms of the lease, post the necessary bonds, and pay the royalties and rentals due to American taxpayers,” said Utah U.S. Attorney John Huber this week.
The room-and-pillar Horizon mine, which started production in 2006, was controlled by Hidden Splendor parent company America West Resources. According to case documentation, about 16 million tons of recoverable federal reserves in Carbon County remained on the lease.
When in operation, Horizon produced an average of about 280,000 tons annually. It last had significant tonnage in 2012, when it ended the year at 210,096 tons. At its peak in 2011, it produced a little more than 370,000 tons.
