Boosting the Black Rock: DOI Actions Aim to Boost Coal Production

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) had a busy summer making decisions on coal mines that support President Donald Trump's "energy dominance" agenda. The decisions, which may be challenged in court, could result in new coal lease sales, an expansion or extension of the lives of existing coal mines or the construction of new greenfield mining projects.

In one of its announcements, DOI lowered the coal lease royalty rate to 7% from 12.5%. In another, the administration made available nearly $725 million in fiscal-year 2025 funding to clean up abandoned coal mines and restore opportunity in America's historic coal communities. The agency also completed what it called a streamlining of the permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Interior's statements referenced several of Trump's Executive Order that sought to boost energy and mineral production.

DOI statements over the summer projected that the mining projects it greenlighted contained a total 281 million tons of recoverable coal. That sum includes thermal coal, used for electric generation, and metallurgical (met) coal, used in steelmaking. The Trump administration's "energy dominance" agenda includes expanding the use of thermal coal and clawing back funding and permits for renewable-energy projects.

"Our nation's broken permitting process has been abused for decades to block affordable, reliable energy production, delay critical infrastructure projects and stunt America's economy," DOI Secretary Doug Burgum said in a June 30 statement. "President Trump is fulfilling his promise to fix the system by eliminating unnecessary regulations weaponized by past administrations to block American progress. These reforms issued by the Department of the Interior will help unleash America's full potential as a global leader in innovation, growth and development."

In another statement, the secretary said, "Coal has long been the backbone of America's energy and industrial strength." The department's moves will "create good-paying jobs, support local communities and secure the resources that keep America strong ... using homegrown resources."

Executives at one major coal mine operator, Peabody Energy Corporation (St. Louis), welcomed DOI's moves. "Peabody sees great untapped potential for existing U.S. coal plants," Mark Spurbeck, CFO for the St. Louis-based company, said by email interview with Bloomberg.

Electric generators have been reducing their use of thermal coal for years. But with projections that electric demand could grow by as much as 25% by 2030, driven in part by data centers, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence (AI), "Peabody sees great untapped potential for existing U.S. coal plants," Mark Spurbeck, chief financial officer for the mining firm, told Bloomberg in an email interview.

Spurbeck predicted demand for thermal coal could jump by 250 million tons. A financial analyst questioned the size of growth, but acknowledged it was underway.

U.S. electricity generators are expected to burn about 390 million tons of coal this year, and 367 million tons of coal in 2026, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That's down from a peak of slightly more than 1 billion tons per year during the second George W. Bush administration. Estimates for 2025 and 2026 coal use by U.S. electric generators may be in the process of being increased based on coal burn in the first half of 2025.

Click on the image at right to see a graph on coal use by U.S. electric generators.

Coal burn for power generation is rising as more utilities push back retirement dates for their coal-fired generators. For more on that, see February 6, 2025, article - Rising Electric Demand Growth Delays Retirement Dates for Coal-Fired Generation.

EIA data shows an increase in coal use for electric generation. The agency's most recent "Monthly Power Report" showed U.S. electric utilities and independent power producers burned about 199 million tons of coal for the January-June 2025 period, up from about 172 million tons for the comparable six-month periods in 2024 and 2023. That's an increase of about 16%.

The International Energy Agency (Paris, France) had slightly different numbers, but they agreed on the direction of coal use. IEA estimated that U.S. power generators burned about 12% more coal during the first half of the year than they did in the comparable year-earlier period. For the full year, IEA projected U.S. generators would burn about 7% more coal than they did in 2024. For more on that, see August 4, 2025, article - IEA: U.S. Coal Use to Rise in 2025, China Use to Drop Slightly.

"Any growth in coal use, and coal mining, would be very good news for the mining industry, which has faced steadily declining demand over the last 15 years," said Joseph Govreau, IIR's vice president of research for the Metals & Minerals industry.

"A growing number of utilities are delaying the retirement of coal-fired generators to make sure they have sufficient electric generating capacity to meet what is widely expected to be a surge in electric demand," he added.

Hundreds of U.S. coal-fired generators have been retired since 2012, according to data tracked by IIR. About 68 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be retired over the next generation, but actions by the Trump administration could push that number down.

Click on the image at right to see a chart of the number and generating capacities of U.S. power plants that have been retired since 2012, and are scheduled to be retired by 2034.

In announcing these decisions, Interior's said it "followed completion of a rigorous environmental assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact."

A summary of DOI's coal-related actions is below.

Coal Lease Sales in Alabama, Utah and Montana: On September 2, the DOI announced it was moving forward with competitive coal-lease sales in in Montana, Alabama and Utah. On October 6, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will sell off the rights to mine for coal on about 1,262 acres of land in In Big Horn County, Montana containing an estimated 167.5 million tons of recoverable coal. This represents an extension of the Spring Creek Mine. If issued, the lease could extend the mine's life through 2051. Sealed bids should be sent to the BLM Montana State Office in Billings by 4:30 pm October 3.

Separately, BLM will offer two lease areas totaling 4,050 acres beneath private lands in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, that are projected to contain 53 million tons of recoverable metallurgical coal. The sealed-bid sale will be held at 10 am (Eastern) on September 30 at the BLM Eastern States State Office in Falls Church, Virginia.

BLM is offering a lease to about 120 acres of land in Emery County, Utah, that contains an estimated 1.29 million tons of recoverable coal. BLM will offer about 120 acres known as the Little Eccles Tract, containing an estimated 1.29 million tons of recoverable coal. Sealed bids must be submitted to the BLM Utah State Office in Salt Lake City by 11 am Mountain time, on October 1, 2025. The sale will take place at 1 pm that day.

Rosebud Mine expansion: In an August 5 statement, the DOI said it had approved a plan to expand the Rosebud Mine in Montana. The decision could enable the recovery of an additional 33.75 million tons of coal. The move will extend the mine's operation through 2039. This is the department's second-largest coal mine expansion project under President Trump. Coal from the Rosebud Mine powers the Colstrip and Rosebud power plants. The DOI said it expected incremental royalty payments to the federal government will exceed $9 million annually.

Antelope Mine expansion: The DOI on August 8 approved an expansion of a lease of federally owned land in Converse County, Wyoming, where the Antelope Mine already operates. The new acreage could produce an additional 14.5 million tons of coal and could extend the mine's life to 2037. The department authorized mining on an additional 857 acres of federal land.

Black Butte accelerated review: In another August decision, the DOI said it was accelerating its review of the Black Butte Mine expansion application. The DOI said it was using "emergency" powers to accelerate the review of the permit application for the mine, which is located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. If approved, the expanded mind could produce an additional 9.2 million tons of coal. The Black Butte Mine has operated since 1977, providing thermal coal to the Jim Bridger Power Plant. The expansion amounts to about 450 acres of land. Approval of the application would extend the mine's life to at least 2039, Interior said August 12.

Tennessee greenfield mine: In a fifth coal-related summertime announcement, the DOI said it had approved the permit for Hurricane Creek Mining LLC to mine thermal and met coal at a greenfield site in Clairborne County, Tennessee. The announcement, made July 8, said the project could contain up to 1.8 million tons of coal over 10 years. The department said the permit was approved "through expedited environmental review under newly established procedures designed to speed up reviews of energy projects in response to the national energy emergency declared by President Trump earlier this year." The permit covers about 635 acres. The surface mine will use auger, highwall and contour methods to produce coal.

"As global instability continues to threaten energy markets, the need for reliable, domestic coal has never been clearer," Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Mineral Management Adam Suess said in the August 12 statement. More generally, the department's summertime mine decisions "underscore our commitment to commonsense permitting, environmental stewardship and Energy Dominance."

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).