According to The Associated Press and local media outlets, the suspension will extend at least 10 days.
General manager Dewey Tanner told AP delays in securing the long-term deal led to the decision.
“Bowie is temporarily idling the mine until upcoming transactions can be completed,” he said.
The company did not indicate how many workers would be affected by the closure.
The non-union Bowie mine commenced production in 1997 and extracts from the Paonia Somerset B and D seams via longwall and continuous mining sections.
While the mine’s coal shipper Union Pacific reported the mine has capacity of 6 million tons annually, federal records from the US Mine Safety and Health Administration listed the mine’s 2009 production as just over 1.2Mt.
