Courtesy of Curtis Englehart
This image shows the former Haliburton campus at 365 32 Road near Clifton, the new home of Morgan Mining in Grand Junction. Morgan Mining currently operates out of the bottom building (through Phoenix Mining) and will expand into buildings E and F, as well as the vacant lot, as it hires 893 new workers over the next eight years. Building B will house the City of Grand Junction’s commercial recycling facility.
The first of many hiring waves has begun for the company to possibly become one of the region’s top employers.
Morgan Mining announced in February its expansion in Grand Junction, bringing with it 893 new jobs in the Grand Valley over the course of eight years. The average salary of these jobs will be $92,447, well above the median income in Mesa County.
Morgan Mining President Justin Morgan told The Daily Sentinel that the company brought in roughly 50 people in December and has already begun sending them to work. Some of those hires went to work in Colorado and others went to work in Utah.
As far as he’s concerned, Morgan Mining is open for business in Grand Junction.
“We are hiring right now. A lot of that’s going to be mostly people with current experience in underground mining. As we continue to grow, you’ll see more inexperienced listings coming up. We’ll have some admin roles that will come out probably in the second half of the year. We just brought on some accounting staff and office management staff, whether that’s equipment maintenance management or employee training,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the company’s hiring tendencies will be through a process of phases as it works toward its goal of nearly 900 hires.
“We’ll have some big hiring spurts, then it’ll slow down a little bit and we’ll maintain our workforce and go through another hiring spurt. It will be sporadic,” he said. “A lot of that will happen throughout the coming years where, in a single month, you’ll see us put on 40 or 50 guys.”
Sentinel File Photo
The North Fork Valley’s West Elk Mine, a Western Slope coal mine, could be one of many mines to collaborate with Morgan Mining, a contract miner and labor service provider that’s expanding in Grand Junction with the goal of 893 net new hires in the next eight years. Morgan Mining President Justin Morgan said that the company is “heavily invested in the coal industry.”
WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO?
Morgan described Morgan Mining as a service provider, “mostly a skilled labor service company.” As a contract miner, the company largely provides labor, but it also provides equipment maintenance services and production mining services.
He expects the company to expand its presence in regional projects as well as newer projects across the western United States while expanding its services.
“We’re heavily invested in the coal industry but are also expanding into minerals every day. A big focus of ours is growing in all things mining. We have a very specific focus in underground. That’s where we have the experts and expertise that helps us stick out the most. You’ll hear about us growing not just in Colorado but also in the neighboring states,” Morgan said.
“Everything operations-wise is going to be managed out of Grand Junction. A lot of training will be happening in Grand Junction. We’ll be bringing people from neighboring states and across the country to be doing training at the facilities in Colorado and at the office there in Grand Junction.”
Christopher Tomlinson/The Daily Sentinel
The Colowyo Mine near Craig has historically been one of the state’s highest output coal mines, photographed here in operation in 2017. The mine is set to close in 2030, but Western Slope mining could be bolstered by Morgan Mining, a company that has expanded in Grand Junction with a plan to hire 893 net new jobs over the course of eight years. Morgan Mining President Justin Morgan said that the company is “heavily invested in the coal industry.”
WHY GRAND JUNCTION?
Morgan Mining is a subsidiary of Morgan Companies, which has other subsidiaries looking to grow in western Colorado.
Last year, Morgan acquired Delta-based Phoenix Mining. As the company grew post-acquisition, Phoenix Mining relocated to Grand Junction. Denver, Salt Lake City and Arizona were all considered for relocation, but Morgan is satisfied with the choice to keep the company on the Western Slope — a satisfaction that played a role in Grand Junction beating out Knoxville, Tennessee, for Morgan Mining’s expansion.
“The Phoenix acquisition was a big opportunity for us and they are continuing to be a big part of what we do today,” Morgan said. “The managers and workforce they had at the time, although a lot smaller at the time, they’ve got a lot of really good management. We wanted to keep those guys on. That definitely played a big role.”
Two major factors in the choice to expand Morgan Mining in Grand Junction as opposed to its headquarters in Knoxville were the facilities — the old Haliburton property at 365 32 Road near Clifton — as well as the Western Slope workforce with mining experience.
Additionally, the company wanted to build around its “key people” in management already living in the area.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Grand Junction over the last year as we acquired the Phoenix Mining operation, and I’m really happy with the area and the people I’ve met have all seemed really excited that we’re coming to the area,” Morgan said.
“It’s a very hard-working population that’s happy we chose Grand Junction. We’re excited about the growth and we look forward to working with the various local economic development agencies and people to help us out. Grand Junction’s been very welcoming.”
In late 2024, there were four underground mining operations in Colorado with 973 miners listed at those mines by the Colorado Division of Mining, Reclamation and Safety.
The largest mine employer with 280 workers was the Elk Creek Mine in the North Fork Valley, operated by Mountain Coal Company.
The City of Grand Junction also plans to move into the old Haliburton facility. The large property can easily accommodate both and the city just announced that they purchased its part for $5.6 million for a materials recycling facility.
Morgan said, for now, they are just leasing part of property.
“I hope to be able to buy the property in the future. We now lease three of the buildings on the property and a significant portion of the land,” Morgan said.
For employment information with Morgan Mining, go to https://www.morgan1.com/careers.
