Maverick Rock operates the Ekins East mine near the Utah County town of Santaquin. Now the company has its sights set on a new work site in Wasatch County’s Daniels Canyon, which it claims Utah law allows.
Wasatch County leaders disagree with Maverick’s assertion, a dispute that now will be decided by a judge. Maverick filed a petition Tuesday, July 1, in 4th District Court, asking a judge to order the Wasatch County Council to take steps toward allowing the expansion.
County manager Dustin Grabau said Wednesday afternoon leaders were aware of the petition but had not yet been served.
Under Utah law, mining companies have the right to expand their vested rights to any new land that meets certain geological criteria. In simple terms, if the new rocks have enough structural similarities and shared history compared to the existing mining site, they’re fair game.
The law also requires local governments to hold a public hearing when the mining operator announces its intent to expand.
Maverick Rock says it has asked the Wasatch County Council to schedule a hearing five separate times since February 2025. The county council so far hasn’t put a hearing on the calendar.
In a letter to Maverick June 18, the Wasatch County Attorney’s Office denied the company’s request. It says the rock in Daniels Canyon doesn’t meet the state’s vested rights criteria.
The proposed Daniels Canyon site is about 60 miles from the existing Ekins East mine. That distance is part of the reason for the county’s decision. It also says the limestone in the two sites is linked, but not until thousands of feet beneath Earth’s surface.
The letter says it would be “absurd and economically not feasible” to mine for shale and limestone at Daniels Canyon, since the minerals are 5,000 to 7,000 feet below ground.
Maverick sees things differently. In May, it told county leaders that if they continue to refuse a public hearing, then “Wasatch County will be intentionally electing not to follow Utah law.”
The company alleges it has lost “at least $20 million in damages” and missed the opportunity to bid on large projects as a result of the county council’s refusal to schedule a public hearing.
Now, Maverick Rock is asking a judge to issue a writ of mandamus, which is a court order commanding a local government to comply with the law. In this case, the company wants the judge to require the Wasatch County Council to put a public hearing on the calendar.
