According to Andalex president Doug Smith, no specific event prompted the decision to sell, and no buyer had been selected. “We have had several expressions of interest,” he said in a statement, and did not divulge the potential purchasers.

Andalex is now selecting an investment advisor, who will complete the sale once a buyer is found. All of the company’s 550 employees have been notified of the news and no operational changes will be made until the sale closes.

Owned by the Mitchell-Green family since its establishment, the company began moving its investment focus from coal to real estate about 10 years ago, according to an industry publication. Since that time, Andalex has sold two of its assets, including its property in western Kentucky as well as Canadian-based Luscar Ltd.

“This has been a very difficult decision, as the Mitchell family has been in the coal industry continuously since 1835, and I have been involved with Andalex since its beginning in 1976,” said company chairman Peter Green. “After our long involvement in the coal business, we now feel it is time to focus on our growing business interests in different areas,” adding that they intended to sell the company as one unit.

Included in that unit is Tower Division, a 50% interest in West Ridge mine (Lower Sunnyside seam), operated by West Ridge Resources, and the Crandall Canyon Project (Hiawatha seam), operated by Genwal Resources. The other 50% of the latter two complexes are owned by Intermountain Power Agency (IPA).

Also included is the Wildcat Loadout, from which the Utah Railroad hauls on a Union Pacific (UP) mainline. Wildcat serves all three operations.