Largest U.S. Coal Mine Gets Supply Agreement

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) (St. Louis, Missouri) announced Tuesday it signed a multi-year contract to supply coal from the largest such mine in North America: its North Antelope/Rochelle Mine (NARM) in Wyoming's Powder River Basin (PRB), which is the largest coal-producing region in the U.S. This comes as the Trump administration aims to boost domestic coal production.

According to Peabody, NARM produced 60 million tons of coal in 2024 and has 1.4 billion tons of proven and probable reserves. NARM primarily produces thermal coal, but also produces metallurgical (met) coal

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Plant Database can click here for a detailed profile of the mine.

Peabody will supply seven to eight million tons of coal per year from the mine to two Missouri natural gas power plants owned by Associated Electric Cooperative (Springfield, Missouri): the New Madrid Power Plant and Thomas Hill Energy Center. Subscribers to the GMI Power Plant Database can click here for the plant profiles.

Associated Electric Cooperative provides electricity for more than 2.1 million member-consumers across rural Missouri, northeast Oklahoma and southeast Iowa.

In an effort to boost U.S. coal production and other generation sources, President Donald Trump earlier this month signed a four-part executive order that includes ending a leasing moratorium for new coal projects on federal lands. For more information, see April 9, 2025, article - Trump Executive Order Seeks to Reverse Decline of Coal.

The orders also include the possibility that the U.S. Department of Energy could force coal-fired power plant owners to keep operating, even if they have already shut down or plan to do so. For information on coal-fired units that have had their retirement dates delayed, see February 6, 2025, article - Rising Electric Demand Growth Delays Retirement Dates for Coal-Fired Generation.

Associated Electric Cooperative Chief Executive Officer David Tudor and the heads of eight other electric cooperatives attended the April 8 order signing event at the White House; in a related press release from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Tudor shared his thoughts: "These orders enable the use of coal generation further into the future. Our member-owners will benefit from the reliability and affordability of keeping coal as a key part of the generation fleet."

The order instructs the Bureau of Land Management to amend two Biden-era resource management plans that heavily restrict coal leasing in Wyoming and Montana. According to a U.S. Department of the Interior fact sheet, revising these plans would "create a path forward to access untapped federal coal reserves, especially in high-production areas like the Powder River Basin," where the NARM is located.

The basin, which includes land in southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, accounted for about 44% of all U.S. coal produced in 2022. That year, 14 coal mines on federal land in the PRB produced about 238.5 million short tons of coal, down sharply from the peak of 428 million short tons in 2008.

In addition to the NARM, Peabody operates two other thermal coal mines in the PRB: Caballo and Rawhide. In its latest earnings release, Peabody said it shipped 23 million tons from the PRB in the fourth quarter--1.8 million tons ahead of expectations and the highest quarterly sales volume for the year. Subscribers can read more information on the Caballo and Rawhide mines.

Industrial Info is tracking 229 coal mining projects in the U.S. totaling $6.6 billion in total investment value. Subscribers can click here for a list of projects.

Subscribers can click here for a list of mines and plants mentioned in this article.

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) 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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).