This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Hallador Energy operates through its subsidiary Sunrise Coal, LLC, which is Indiana's third-largest coal producer. The company mines high-quality bituminous thermal coal from underground mines in the Illinois Basin. This coal is processed and transported to power plants, forming the core of Hallador's vertically integrated dispatchable energy platform. Coal mining and related operations are the company's primary business activity.
The company's operations have resulted in regulatory penalties. In 2023, Sunrise Coal, LLC was penalized $7,849 by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), as documented by ViolationTracker. A separate 2023 enforcement action cited a Hallador-associated power plant for violating air pollution rules by producing unacceptably high levels of dense smoke, a threat to public health. The company also faces ongoing litigation where plaintiffs allege violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law at its coal operations.
Hallador Energy acknowledges the structural decline in demand for thermal coal in the U.S., driven by the retirement of coal-fired power plants. Despite this market shift, the company continues to base its business model on the extraction and burning of coal, with no announced plan to phase out its core mining operations.
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Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
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