Coal beneath Federal lands in the United States—Mines, reserves, and resources

Shaffer, Brian N.-, Johnston, Michelle N.-, Kinney, Scott A.- skinney@usgs.gov · 2026 · Report

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compiled a list of coal mines and tabulated the coal reserves and available coal resources beneath Federal lands in the

Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: pubs.usgs.gov.

U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1570 Energy Resources Program Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States— Mines, Reserves, and Resources

Cover. Background,  A train load of coal on the mainline railroad in the Powder River Basin. Photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey Coal Assessment Team. Top,  Draglines remove overburden rock from multiple coal beds in a surface mine on Federal lands in the Yampa coal field in northwest Colorado. Photograph by Brian N. Shaffer, U.S. Geological Survey. Bottom,  An electric mining shovel loading coal into a haul truck in the pit of a surface mine on Federal lands in the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming. Note that the top of the subbituminous coal bed being mined is above the top of the shovel. Photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey Coal Assessment Team.

Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources By Brian N. Shaffer, Michelle N. Johnston, and Scott A. Kinney Energy Resources Program Circular 1570 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2026 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov/ or contact the store at 1-888-275-8747. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Shaffer, B.N., Johnston, M.N., and Kinney, S.A., 2026, Coal beneath Federal lands in the United States—Mines, reserves, and resources: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1570, 16 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1570. ISSN 1067-084X (print) ISSN 2330-5703 (online) ISBN 978-1-4113-4677-2

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Leslie F. (Jingle) Ruppert (U.S. Geological Survey Scientist emeritus) and Thomas A. Huebner (Bureau of Land Management) for their thoughtful and thorough peer reviews of the manuscript, tables, and figures. The authors would also like to thank Emily M. Martin and other staff of the Denver Publishing Service Center for their work editing, laying out, and publishing this report on a tight deadline.

Contents Figures

1. Map showing coal resources by rank and the distribution of Federal lands in

Tables

1. A list of coal mines and reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands, as of

The 2024 total coal mines, reported production, and reported reserves beneath

3. Available coal resources beneath Federal lands in major coal-bearing areas in Conversion Factors U.S. customary units to International System of Units Multiply By To obtain Length inch (in.) centimeter (cm) feet (ft) meter (m) Mass pound, avoirdupois (lb) kilogram (kg) ton, short (2,000 lb) metric ton (t)

International System of Units to U.S. customary units Multiply By To obtain Length micrometer (µm) 3.937×10-5 inch (in) Mass gram (g) ounce, avoirdupois (oz) Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows: °F (1.8 × °C) + 32. Abbreviations BLM Bureau of Land Management bst billion short tons EIA U.S. Energy Information Administration MSHA Mine Safety and Health Administration mst million short tons NCRA National Coal Resource Assessment OSMRE Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement SEC U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission st short tons USGS U.S. Geological Survey

Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources By Brian N. Shaffer, Michelle N. Johnston, and Scott A. Kinney Plain Language Summary There are 34 coal mines on Federal lands, mostly west of the Mississippi River. In 2024, 261,690,308 short tons of coal were mined from Federal lands. The conterminous United States has about 355,771,000,000 short tons of coal resources beneath Federal lands. Alaska also has an estimated 140,000,000,000 short tons of available coal resources but may contain as much as 5,500,000,000,000 short tons of identified and undiscovered coal resources. Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compiled a list of coal mines and tabulated the coal reserves and available coal resources beneath Federal lands in the conterminous United States. Coal resources beneath Federal lands in Alaska are also discussed in this report. In 2024, the 34 coal mines on Federal lands produced more than 261 million short tons of coal. Surface mining is used at 23 of the coal mines, and underground mining is used at 11. These 34 coal mines control more than 4.2 billion short tons of reported coal reserves. Most of the coal mines (31) and more than 98 percent of the reported coal reserves are on Federal lands west of the Mississippi River. Of all the States, Wyoming has the most coal mines on Federal lands (14) and produces the most coal from Federal lands. The Powder River Basin has the most coal mines per basin or coal field operating on Federal lands (12 in Wyoming, 2 in Montana). Most of the available coal resources in the conterminous United States are also west of the Mississippi River. There are five basins or coal fields in the West that each contain available coal resources of more than 25 billion short tons. The USGS estimates that more than 355 billion short tons of available coal resources remain beneath Federal lands in the conterminous United States. Alaska contains substantial quantities of coal resources. The USGS estimates that Alaska has at least 140 billion short tons of identified available coal resources but may ultimately have as much as 5.5 trillion short tons of coal resources. Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assesses the quantity and quality of available coal resources and reserves in the basins and coal fields of the United States, with an emphasis on Federal lands. This report provides an overview of coal mines operating on Federal lands (fig. 1), the reported coal reserves for each of those mines, available coal resources beneath Federal lands, and a brief discussion on coal resources in Alaska. Table 1 contains a list of coal mines on Federal lands that shows the State where the mines are, type of mining (surface or underground), type of coal, mine's operating company, basin or coal field where the production is, amount of coal produced in 2024, and reported coal reserves for those mines. Table 2 lists the six States mining coal on Federal lands, the number of coal mines on Federal lands in each State, the total 2024 coal produced from Federal lands, and the reported coal reserves remaining beneath Federal lands. Table 3 shows the estimated available coal resources beneath Federal lands. The most recent comprehensive assessment of the Nation's coal resources was the multiyear National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA), which assessed coal resources in five priority coal-producing regions: the (1) northern and central areas of the Appalachian Basin, (2) Illinois Basin, (3) Gulf Coast, (4) Colorado Plateau, and (5) Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains (Dennen, 2009). Coal resources in the southern area of the Appalachian Basin were not assessed by the NCRA. These assessment results were published in a series of USGS Professional Papers between 1999 and 2007 (Dennen, 2009). Coal resource assessment studies (for individual basins and coal fields) that have been completed since the comprehensive NCRA reports include the Powder River Basin assessment in Wyoming and Montana (Luppens and others, 2015) and the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert area assessment in south-central Wyoming (Scott and others, 2019). Coal resources by rank and distribution beneath Federal lands in the conterminous United States, along with coal mines on Federal lands, are shown in figure 1.

2    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Figure 1.  Map showing coal resources by rank and distribution on Federal lands in the conterminous United States. The coal resources by rank data are from East (2013). The individual numbers shown on the map refer to current (as of 2024) coal mines on Federal lands and correspond to the mines in table 1. The inset map shows the individual coal mines in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. Powder River Basin Williston Basin Bull Mountain Basin Green River Basin San Juan Basin Kaiparowits Plateau Piceance Basin Uinta Basin Warrior coal field Black Mesa Hanna and Carbon Basins Illinois Basin Appalachian Basin Norfolk Baltimore Buffalo New Orleans Mobile 1 - 12 CANADA UNITED STATES UNITED STATES MEXICO 47°N 45°N 43°N 105°W 107°W ROSEBUD (16) BULL MOUNTAIN MINE NO. 1 (17) SPRING CREEK MINE (15) BUCKSKIN MINE (1) RAWHIDE MINE (2) EAGLE BUTTE MINE (3) DRY FORK MINE (4) WYODAK MINE (5) CABALLO MINE (6) BELLE AYR MINE (7) CORDERO ROJO MINE (8) COAL CREEK MINE (9) BLACK THUNDER MINE (10) NORTH ANTELOPE ROCHELLE MINE (11) ANTELOPE MINE (12) Williston Basin Powder River Basin EXPLANATION Coal mine on Federal land —by type, use, and identifier Federal land Surface, thermal Underground, metallurgic Underground, thermal Underground, other Anthracite Bituminous Subbituminous Lignite Mapped coal resource area by rank Major United States coal shipping port and name Mobile Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data Albers Equal-Area Conic projection, standard parallels 29°30' and 45°30' N., central meridian 96°00' W., rotated 13° North American Datum of 1983 500 MILES 500 KILOMETERS 200 MILES 200 KILOMETERS

Introduction    3 Table 1.  A list of coal mines and reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands, as of 2024. [Data for the reported 2024 production come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2026b). st, short tons; No., number; U, underground mining methods; M, metallurgical coal; BC, Blue Creek; LLC, Limited Liability Corporation; WCF, Warrior coal field; BLM, Bureau of Land Management; Peabody, Peabody Energy Corporation; S, surface mining methods; T, thermal coal; LP, Limited Partnership; GRB, Green River Basin; OSMRE, U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; Inc., Incorporated; PB, Piceance Basin; MSHA, Mine Safety and Health Administration; O, other; SJB, San Juan Basin; UB, Uinta Basin; Core, Core Natural Resources, Inc., CMB, Central Montana Basins; PRB, Powder River Basin; Co., Company; BNI, Baukol-Noonan, Incorporated; LTD, Limited; WB, Williston Basin; KP, Kaiparowits Basin; N/A, not available; Boyd, John T. Boyd Company; MTech, Mining Technology] Mine name Number on figure 1 map Mine type Type of coal mined Operating company Coal basin or field 2024 reported coal production beneath Federal lands (in st) Reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands (in st) Reported coal reserves source Alabama Blue Creek Mine No. 1 U M Warrior Met Coal BC, LLC WCF 208,760 36,300,000 BLM, 2026b Mine No. 4 U M Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC WCF 2,769,238 16,900,000 BLM, 2026b Shoal Creek Mine U M Peabody Southeast Mining, LLC WCF 2,102,725 16,000,000 Peabody, 2025 Colorado Colowyo Mine S T Colowyo Coal Company, LP GRB 1,713,919 81,660,000 OSMRE, 2017b Deserado Mine1 U T Blue Mountain Energy, Inc. PB 1,907,363 7,304,000 BLM, 2026a; MSHA, 2026 Foidel Creek Mine U T Peabody Twentymile Mining, GRB 995,706 9,000,000 Peabody, 2025 King II Mine U O GCC Energy, LLC SJB 582,342 4,660,000 OSMRE, 2017f Trapper Mine S T Trapper Mining, Inc. GRB 1,521,960 19,100,000 OSMRE, 2016 West Elk Mine U T Mountain Coal Company, LLC UB 3,705,019 34,500,000 Core, 2025 Montana Bull Mountain Mine No. 1 U T Signal Peak Energy, LLC CMB 7,067,888 22,800,000 OSMRE, 2025c Rosebud S T Westmoreland Rosebud Mining, LLC PRB 5,978,039 33,800,000 OSMRE, 2025e Spring Creek Mine S T Navajo Transitional Energy Co. PRB 13,053,955 39,900,000 OSMRE, 2025f North Dakota Center Mine2 S T BNI Coal, LTD WB 4,240,336 6,130,000 OSMRE, 2024b Coyote Creek Mine3 S T Coyote Creek Mining Co., LLC WB 1,913,979 5,200,000 OSMRE, 2024a Falkirk Mine2 S T Falkirk Mining Co. WB 7,400,184 2,200,000 OSMRE, 2018b Freedom Mine3 S T The Coteau Properties Co. WB 11,860,169 76,900,000 OSMRE, 2025d Utah Coal Hollow (Alton) Mine4 S T Alton Coal Development, LLC KP 30,800,000 OSMRE, 2019 Gentry No. 3 Mine U T Gentry Mountain Mining, LLC UB 292,122 N/A N/A Skyline No. 3 Mine U T Canyon Fuel Co., LLC UB 2,963,808 42,000,000 OSMRE, 2017g Sufco Mine U T Canyon Fuel Co., LLC UB 3,099,164 55,700,000 OSMRE, 2017e Wyoming Antelope Mine S T Navajo Transitional Energy Co. PRB 14,984,446 378,400,000 OSMRE, 2025b Belle Ayr Mine S T Eagle Specialty Materials, LLC PRB 14,628,974 208,400,000 OSMRE, 2017a Black Thunder Mine S T Thunder Basin Coal Co., LLC PRB 44,480,976 378,000,000 Core, 2025 Buckskin Mine5 S T Kiewit Mining Group PRB 6,752,570 107,000,000 Boyd, 2011; MSHA, 2026 Caballo Mine S T Peabody Caballo Mining, LLC PRB 10,788,438 168,000,000 Peabody, 2025 Coal Creek Mine5 S T Thunder Basin Coal Co., LLC PRB 1,552,309 125,000,000 Boyd, 2011; MSHA, 2026 Cordero Rojo Mine S T Navajo Transitional Energy Co. PRB 4,314,678 288,400,000 OSMRE, 2017c Dry Fork Mine S T Western Fuels - Wyoming, Inc. PRB 3,962,853 222,300,000 OSMRE, 2017d Eagle Butte Mine6 S T Eagle Specialty Materials, LLC PRB 11,035,284 225,400,000 Mtech, 2014; MSHA, 2026

4    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Table 1.  A list of coal mines and reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands, as of 2024.—Continued [Data for the reported 2024 production come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2026b). st, short tons; No., number; U, underground mining methods; M, metallurgical coal; BC, Blue Creek; LLC, Limited Liability Corporation; WCF, Warrior coal field; BLM, Bureau of Land Management; Peabody, Peabody Energy Corporation; S, surface mining methods; T, thermal coal; LP, Limited Partnership; GRB, Green River Basin; OSMRE, U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; Inc., Incorporated; PB, Piceance Basin; MSHA, Mine Safety and Health Administration; O, other; SJB, San Juan Basin; UB, Uinta Basin; Core, Core Natural Resources, Inc., CMB, Central Montana Basins; PRB, Powder River Basin; Co., Company; BNI, Baukol-Noonan, Incorporated; LTD, Limited; WB, Williston Basin; KP, Kaiparowits Basin; N/A, not available; Boyd, John T. Boyd Company; MTech, Mining Technology] Mine name Number on figure 1 map Mine type Type of coal mined Operating company Coal basin or field 2024 reported coal production beneath Federal lands (in st) Reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands (in st) Reported coal reserves source Wyoming—Continued North Antelope Rochelle Mine S T Peabody Powder River Mining, LLC PRB 59,793,304 1,300,000,000 Peabody, 2025 Rawhide Mine S T Peabody Caballo Mining, LLC PRB 9,049,452 80,000,000 Peabody, 2025 Wyodak Mine S T Black Hills Energy PRB 3,686,049 172,000,000 Black Hills Corporation, 2026 Black Butte and Leucite Hills Mine S T Black Butte Coal Co. GRB 433,842 9,200,000 OSMRE, 2025a Jim Bridger Mine S T Bridger Coal Co. GRB 2,850,457 8,800,000 OSMRE, 2018a 1Subtracted the MSHA production data (MSHA, 2026; 2013-24) from the short tons listed in the BLM (2026a) report. 2Production was from private, State, and Federal lands. 3Production was from private, State, and Federal lands; Federal resources only. 4Reported as active in 2023; not listed in 2024. 5Subtracted the MSHA production data (MSHA, 2026; 2012-24) from the reserves listed in Boyd (2011). 6Subtracted the MSHA production data (MSHA, 2026; 2013-24) from the short tons listed in the MTech (2014) report. Table 2.  The 2024 total coal mines, reported production, and reported reserves beneath Federal lands per State. [Data for the reported 2024 production come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA, 2026b). Data for the reported coal reserves for each State come from the following sources: for Alabama, the Peabody Energy Corporation (Peabody; 2025) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM; 2026b); for Colorado, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE; 2016, 2017b, f), Peabody (2025), Core Natural Resources, Inc. (Core; 2025), BLM (2026a), and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA; 2026); for Montana, the OSMRE (2025c, e, f); for North Dakota, the OSMRE (2018b, 2024a, b, 2025d); for Utah, OSMRE (2017g, e, 2019), and for Wyoming, the John T. Boyd Company (Boyd; 2011), Mining Technology (MTech; 2014), OSMRE (2017a, c, d, 2018a, 2025a, b), Core (2025); Peabody (2025); MSHA (2026), and Black Hills Corporation (2026)] State Number of mines 2024 reported coal production beneath Federal lands (in short tons) Percentage of coal produced from Federal lands Reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands (in short tons) Percentage of coal reserves beneath Federal lands Eastern State Alabama 5,080,723 69,200,000 Western States Colorado 10,426,309 156,224,000 Montana 26,099,882 96,500,000 North Dakota 25,414,668 90,430,000 Utah 6,355,094 128,500,000 Wyoming 188,313,632 3,670,900,000 Total of Western States 256,609,585 4,142,554,000 Total 261,690,308 4,211,754,000

Introduction    5 Table 3.  Available coal resources beneath Federal lands in major coal-bearing areas in the conterminous United States. [Wyo., Wyoming; Mont., Montana; ft, feet; bst, billion short tons; N. Dak., North Dakota; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; Colo., Colorado; N/A, not applicable; greater than; less than; N. Mex., New Mexico; Ariz., Arizona] Area States Available resources of Federal coal holdings (in short tons) Coal rank Notes and comments Available coal resources source Powder River Basin Wyo., Mont. 180,890,000,000 Subbituminous Available coal resources shown are those at cover depth of less than 500 ft; Available resources to 3,000 ft cover depth are 833.9 bst; minimum coal bed thickness is 2.5 ft. The 2.61 bst of coal produced between 2015 and 2024 has been subtracted from the available resources. Luppens and others, 2015 Williston Basin N. Dak 27,160,000,000 Lignite Compilation of the resource as­ sessments for four major coal beds in the basin. Ellis and others, 1999b Green River Basin—Little Snake River coal field, Red Desert area Wyo. 10,800,000,000 Subbituminous N/A Scott and others, Green River Basin—Yampa coal field Colo. N/A Bituminous N/A N/A Green River Basin—Rock Springs Uplift Wyo. 1,240,000,000 Subbituminous Coal resources were >2.5 ft thick. Excludes areas already leased or permitted by Jim Bridger and Black Butte Mines. Ellis and others, 1999b Piceance Basin— Deserado Area Colo. 431,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources were >1.2 ft thick. Excludes areas leased or per­ mitted by Deserado Mine Brownfield and others, 2000a Piceance Basin— Danforth Hills coal field Colo. 16,220,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources were >1.2 ft thick and at <3,000 ft cover depth. Available resources were estimated using the percent­ age of Federal coal for all coal resources in each assess­ ment subarea. Brownfield and others, 2000b Piceance Basin— southern portion Colo. 33,800,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources at <3,000 ft cover depth. Hettinger and others, 2000b San Juan Basin (SJB) Colo., N. Mex 42,000,000,000 Bituminous and sub­ bituminous Coal resources were >1.2 ft thick and at <3,000 ft cover depth. Fassett, 2000 Uinta Basin— Book Cliffs coal field Utah 3,500,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources were >4.0 ft thick and at <3,000 ft cover depth. Kirschbaum and Biewick, 2000 Uinta Basin— Southern Wasatch Plateau Utah 5,300,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources were >1.2 ft thick and at <3,000 ft cover depth. Available resources listed are combined for the Southern Wasatch Plateau and Book Cliffs. Dubiel and others, 2000 Kaiparowits Plateau Utah 28,000,000,000 Bituminous Coal resources were >3.5 ft thick and at <3,000 ft cover depth. Hettinger and others, 2000a

6    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Because of the complicated nature of mineral-estate ownership, this report assumes that Federal surface ownership generally includes mineral-estate ownership, meaning that the Federal Government owns the surface and any underlying mineral or energy resources, as was assumed in previous Federal land resource allocations (Gautier and others, 1998). Federally owned land includes land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Energy, Department of War, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Tennessee Valley Authority (Schenk and others, 2025). Coal Rank Classifications Coal ranks are classified by their degree of alteration or coalification, driven by increasing heat and pressure, from lignite to anthracite (Wood and others, 1983). Coal rank classification is based on the analysis of the dry, mineralmatter-free heat value, fixed carbon, and volatile matter. These parameters are chosen because they are consistent, with very little variance, within each coal rank (Wood and others, 1983). Lignite has undergone the lowest degree of alteration Table 3.  Available coal resources beneath Federal lands in major coal-bearing areas in the conterminous United States.—Continued [Wyo., Wyoming; Mont., Montana; ft, feet; bst, billion short tons; N. Dak., North Dakota; USGS, U.S. Geological Survey; Colo., Colorado; N/A, not applicable; greater than; less than; N. Mex., New Mexico; Ariz., Arizona] Area States Available resources of Federal coal holdings (in short tons) Coal rank Notes and comments Available coal resources source Black Mesa Ariz. 3,700,000,000 Bituminous and subbituminous Coal resources calculated for the coal beds of the Wepo Formation only because of sparse data. Nations and others, 2000 Hanna and Carbon Basins Wyo. 1,630,000,000 Subbituminous Coal resources were >2.5 ft thick. Ellis and others, 1999a Central Montana Basins—Bull Mountain Basin Mont. 1,100,000,000 Bituminous and subbituminous The percentage of Federal coal ownership is not given for the resource assessment. Stricker, 1999 Total 355,771,000,000 <8,300 BTU/lb Increasing alteration or coalification ≥8,300 to <11,500 BTU/lb ≥11,500 to ≥14,000 BTU/lb <69% to <86% Fixed carbon >14% to >31% Volatile matter Nonagglomerating Nonagglomerating Nonagglomerating Commonly agglomerating Lignite Subbituminous Bituminous Classification Defining chemical analysis parameters Agglomerating character ≥86% Fixed carbon ≤14% Volatile matter Anthracite Thermal Thermal Thermal and other Thermal, metallurgical, and other Coal use Increasing heat and (or) pressure (because of burial, metamorphism, or igneous activity) Figure 2.  A flow chart showing the progression of coal rank classifications as heat and pressure increase the alteration or coalification of coal. Also shown are the defining chemical analysis parameters and agglomerating character for each coal rank classification. Classification parameters from Wood and others, 1983 (p. 17). less than; greater than; ≤, less than or equal to; ≥, greater than or equal to; %, percent; BTU/lb, British thermal units per pound.

Coal Resources and Coal Reserves    7 or coalification. As the coal deposit is subjected to increasing heat and (or) pressure, coal rank transitions from lignite to subbituminous, then bituminous, and finally anthracite, which is the coal rank classification that has undergone the highest degree of alteration or coalification. Figure 2 shows the progression of coal rank classification, based on the increasing degree of alteration or coalification, and the defining chemical analysis parameters for each coal rank. Figure 2 also shows how the physical and chemical parameters of coal factor into the designation of coal rank. Agglomerating coal is defined by Wood and others (1983, p. 5) as "coal that, during volatile matter determinations, produces either an agglomerate button capable of supporting a 500-gram weight without pulverizing, or a button showing swelling or [a porous or honeycomb] cell structure." If the coal is metallurgical-grade, an agglomerate coke button will form when a 1-gram sample of coal, crushed to pass through a 250-micrometer sieve, is placed in a crucible and heated to a temperature of 800-820 degrees Celsius. This heat causes the coal to soften and swell, then resolidify into a porous mass or "button" (Trippi and others, 2021). Agglomerating is a distinguishing characteristic of metallurgical coal, which is an essential ingredient in the conventional steelmaking process. Nonmetallurgical-grade coals will not agglomerate. Coal Resources and Coal Reserves The discussion of "coal resources" and "coal reserves" can be confusing because these terms are often mistakenly applied when quantifying coal deposits (Shaffer and others, 2026). "Coal resources" (fig. 3) are defined as natural "deposits of coal in the Earth's crust, in such forms and amounts that economic extraction is currently or potentially feasible" (Wood and others, 1983, p. 19). "Original coal resources" are coal beds that are (1) less than 6,000 feet deep and (2) greater than 14 inches thick for anthracite and bituminous coal or greater than 30 inches thick for subbituminous and lignite coal before any coal is extracted (Wood and others, 1983). "Remaining coal resources" are a subset of original coal resources that remain after subtracting coal that has been (1) previously mined, (2) left as pillars in abandoned mines or barriers between mines, and (3) sterilized (not extractable because of previous mining activities). "Available coal resources" are a subset of remaining coal resources and are calculated by subtracting coal quantities that cannot be mined because of land use, environmental, or societal restrictions from the remaining coal resources. Available coal resources also exclude coal that is not extractable because of geologic anomalies, such as near-surface weathering or oxidation, technical or mining limitations caused by excessive cover depths, high-stripping ratios, and coal bed thickness (too thick or thin; Luppens and others, 2009). "Coal reserves" are a subset of available coal resources where the coal can be sold at market value for a profit after deducting extraction and processing costs (Luppens and others, 2009). Beyond that definition, the use of the term "coal reserves" in this report also implies that the coal is in a mining permit area or is within a block of coal with active mining operations, although Wood and others (1983) specify that "the term reserves [original emphasis] need not signify that extraction facilities are in place or operative" (p. 18). Figure 3 is a flow chart for resource and reserve classifications in this report. A coal shovel loading coal into a haul truck from a thin coal bed in the pit of a surface mine on Federal lands in the Yampa coal field in northwest Colorado. Photograph by David C. Scott, U.S. Geological Survey.

8    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Coal Mines on Federal Lands In 2024 (the most recent year with annual production data available as of 2026), 34 coal mines in six states produced coal from reserves entirely or partially beneath Federal lands (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA], 2026b), as shown in table 1. One mine, the Coal Hollow (Alton) Mine in Utah (table 1; no. 18 in fig. 1), reported no production in 2024, after being listed as a surface mining operation in 2023 (EIA, 2026a). The locations of these coal mines on Federal lands are shown in figure 1 and are annotated based on the mining method used at the mine (surface or underground) and by the end use of the coal produced (thermal, metallurgical, or other). Surface coal mining methods (highwall, contour stripping, auger, and other methods) are used at 23 of these mines, and underground coal mining methods (longwall, room and pillar) are used at the remaining 11 mines (table 2). Additional information on types of surface and underground mining methods can be found on the Kentucky Geological Survey (2025) website. Original coal resources In-place coal resources <6,000 feet deep—before any mining activities Anthracite and bituminous coal beds >14 inches thick Subbituminous coal beds and lignite beds >30 inches thick Subtract coal resources that have been previously extracted, left as pillars or barriers, or sterilized by previous mining activities. Remaining coal resources Subtract coal resources that cannot be extracted because of land use, environmental, or societal restrictions. Subtract coal resources that are not extractable because of excessive cover depths, high-stripping ratios, thin coal, thick coal (coal more than 15 feet thick at greater than 300 feet cover depth), geological anomalies, or other technical or mining limitations. Available coal resources Coal reserves Subtract coal resources that are not currently identified for active mining operation development. Subtract coal resources that cannot be sold at market value for a profit after deducting extraction and processing costs (the market value will vary because of demand and technology). Figure 3.  A flow chart of coal resources and reserve classifications. Figure adapted from Wood and others (1983, fig. 3) and Luppens and others (2009, fig. 3). less than; greater than.

Coal Resources Beneath Federal Lands    9 The 34 coal mines on Federal lands produced 261,690,308 short tons (st; or 261.7 million short tons [mst]; 1 st equals 2,000 pounds) of coal in 2024 (table 2), which accounted for 51.06 percent of the overall U.S. coal production (EIA, 2025). Two additional mines, the Emery Mine in Utah and the Kemmerer Mine in Wyoming, hold Federal leases but are mining coal from either State or private lands and are not included in this report's estimates (T.M. Mamayev, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, unpub. data, 2026). As of 2024, Wyoming has the most coal mines on Federal lands (14 mines), followed by Colorado (6), North Dakota (4), Utah (4), Alabama (3), and Montana (3). Wyoming led the Nation in coal production from Federal lands in 2024 by a wide margin (188,313,632 st, or 188.3 mst), followed, as shown in table 2, by Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Alabama (EIA, 2026b). Collectively, the 31 mines in the Western United States (defined here as States west of the Mississippi River) accounted for approximately 98 percent of coal produced from Federal land (table 2). The North Antelope Rochelle Mine, operating in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming (no. 11, table 1 and fig. 1 inset map), produced more coal than any other mine operating on Federal lands in 2024, with 59,793,304 st (or 59.8 mst; EIA, 2026b), as well as more coal than any coal mine operating on State or privately-held lands in the United States in 2024 (EIA, 2026b). The Black Thunder Mine, also in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (no. 10, table 1 and fig. 1 inset map), produced 44,480,976 st (or 44.5 mst) in 2024 (EIA, 2026b). These two mines produced 39.85 percent of coal mined from Federal lands in 2024. Of the 31 coal mines on Federal lands in the Western United States, 29 mines produced coal used for electrical generation (thermal coal), 1 mine (King II Mine in southwestern Colorado, refer to table 1 and fig. 1) produced coal used in the cement-making process, and 1 mine is idled (temporarily closed; Coal Hollow [Alton] Mine in Utah, refer to table 1 and fig. 1). In Alabama, 3 coal mines on Federal lands produced coal used in the conventional steelmaking process (metallurgical coal). Coal Reserves Beneath Federal Lands Coal mining operations on Federal lands require coal reserves to sustain future mining. The reported coal reserves for the coal mines on Federal lands are shown in table 1. Differences in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements between publicly owned and privately held companies often make determining reported reserves for coal mines difficult. Publicly owned companies are required by the SEC to report their reserves in their annual reports and 10-K forms, which are available to the public (for example, Black Hills Corporation, 2026). Because privately owned companies are not required by the SEC to report their reserves to the public, their reported reserves beneath Federal lands are derived from a variety of sources, including reports by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the BLM, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and mining industry journal publications (for example, Mining Technology [MTech], 2014). Typically, the reports by Federal government agencies (Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, BLM) only report reserves calculated for the Federal leases held by the mining operation, whereas the SEC reports, for publicly owned companies, do not break down reported reserve quantities by Federal, State, or private ownership. Almost all the mines in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming (fig. 1 inset map) reported reserves larger than 125,000,000 st (or 125 mst), as shown in table 1, with the North Antelope Rochelle Mine having the largest reported reserves at 1,300,000,000 st (or 1,300 mst). Wyoming is the state with the largest reported reserves, totaling 3,670,900,000 st (or 3,671 mst; table 2), comprising more than 87 percent of the reported reserves beneath Federal lands. The reported reserves for Colorado (156,224,000 st, or 156.2 mst; table 2), Utah (128,500,000 st, or 128.5 mst; table 2), and Montana (96,500,000 st, or 96.5 mst; table 2) trail Wyoming's reserves. The reported reserves beneath Federal lands in North Dakota total 90,430,000 st (or 90.4 mst; table 2). The metallurgical coal reserves for the three mines operating on Federal lands in Alabama are 69,200,000 st (or 69.2 mst). Overall, the reported reserves beneath Federal lands are 4,211,754,000 st (or 4,212 mst; table 2). Most (98.36 percent) of the reported reserves for coal mines on Federal lands are in the Western United States. Coal Resources Beneath Federal Lands Coal resources are beneath Federal lands throughout the United States, but almost all those coal resources are west of the Mississippi River, as shown in figure 1. There are few Federal lands underlain by Paleozoic coal-bearing areas east of the Mississippi River or lignite-bearing areas along the Gulf Coast Basin, so available coal resources for those Federal lands have not been assessed. Table 3 shows available resources on Federal lands in major coal-bearing areas in the conterminous United States, as reported in many USGS coal assessment reports. The Powder River Basin, spanning across northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana (fig. 1), holds the largest quantity of available coal resources of any coalbearing area in the conterminous United States. The Powder River Basin contains an estimated 180,890,000,000 st of subbituminous coal (or 180.9 bst; Luppens and others, 2015). The Williston Basin, in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, contains an estimated 27,160,000,000 st of lignite (or 27.2 bst; Ellis and others, 1999b). The Powder River Basin and Williston Basin are major producers of thermal coal for electrical power generation in the United States. Other

10    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources areas containing large quantities of available coal resources include the San Juan Basin in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico (42,000,000,000 st, or 42.0 bst of subbituminous-bituminous coal; Fassett, 2000), the southern portion of the Piceance Basin in western Colorado (33,800,000,000 st, or 33.8 bst of subbituminous-anthracite coal; Hettinger and others, 2000b), and the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah (28,000,000,000 st, or 28.0 bst of subbituminous-bituminous coal; Hettinger and others, 2000a). Overall, the estimated available coal resources beneath Federal lands in the conterminous United States totals 355,771,000,000 st (or 355.8 bst; table 3). This total does not include potential available coal resources in the Warrior coal field in Alabama, which holds metallurgical-grade bituminous coal resources; the Warrior coal field resources have not been assessed by the USGS since the 1960s. RUSSIA CANADA UNITED STATES EXPLANATION Coal resource area by rank Anthracite Subbituminous Lignite Federal land Anthracite Bituminous Subbituminous Lignite Coal resource potential by rank—Individual prospect or sample point 65°N 60°N 70°N 55°N 175°E 175°E 125°W 135°W 145°W 155°W 165°W 175°W 500 MILES 500 KILOMETERS Base from U.S. Geological Survey digital data Alaska Albers Equal-Area Conic projection, standard parallels 55° and 65° N., central meridian 154° W. North American Datum of 1983 Figure 4.  Map of Alaska showing Federal lands and known coal fields. Individual coal samples and prospects indicate coal fields that are undefined or poorly defined (Merritt and Hawley, 1986).

Summary    11 Alaska Coal Resources Alaska contains substantial quantities of coal resources, ranging from lignite to anthracite in rank. According to Flores and others (2004), Alaska's coal fields hold an estimated 140,000,000,000 st (or 140.0 bst) of identified available coal resources. Because of Alaska's remoteness and lack of detailed geologic mapping and exploration drill hole data, Flores and others (2004) estimate that Alaska may ultimately contain as much as 5,500,000,000,000 st (or 5.5 trillion short tons) of identified and undiscovered coal resources. The Federal Government owns 224 million acres of land in Alaska, which amounts to 61.4 percent of the total land ownership (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2025). The quantity of coal resources beneath all Federal lands in Alaska is unknown. Figure 4 shows the extent of Federal lands in Alaska, relation of those lands to known coal fields, and many coal samples and prospects throughout Alaska. There is currently (as of 2026) only one coal mine operating in Alaska, which is not mining on Federal land. Summary As of 2024, 34 coal mines produce coal from Federal lands, consisting of 29 mines producing thermal coal for electrical power generation, 3 mines producing metallurgical coal for steelmaking, 1 mine producing thermal industrial coal for cement-making operations, and 1 mine that was idled. In 2024, 51.06 percent of the coal produced in the United States was mined from Federal lands. Wyoming has the most coal mines operating on Federal lands (14 mines), followed by Colorado (6), North Dakota (4) and Utah (4), and Alabama (3) and Montana (3). Wyoming produced the most coal from Federal lands (188,313,632 short tons [st], or 188.3 million short tons [mst]) in 2024, accounting for almost 72 percent of the total production from Federal lands. Wyoming also has the mine (North Antelope Rochelle) that not only produces the most coal from Federal lands but also produces the most coal of any mine in the United States (59,793,304 st, or 59.8 mst, in 2024), regardless of surface ownership (Federal, State, or private). More than 98 (98.06) percent of coal produced from Federal lands is west of the Mississippi River. Reported coal reserves for the coal mines on Federal lands are estimated to contain approximately 4.21 billion short tons (bst). More than 98 (98.36) percent of the reported coal reserves are west of the Mississippi River, mostly in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. The Powder River Basin has 10 coal mines that report remaining coal reserves of more than 125 mst, and 2 mines that have remaining coal reserves less than 125 mst. Of the Powder River Basin mines, the North Antelope Rochelle Mine has the most remaining coal reserves at 1.3 bst. Abundant available coal resources, ranging in rank from lignite to anthracite, remain beneath Federal lands throughout the United States, mostly west of the Mississippi River. USGS coal assessment studies identified 355,771,000,000 st (or 355.8 bst) of available coal resources beneath Federal lands. The Powder River Basin contains approximately 180,890,000,000 st (or 180.9 bst) of available subbituminous coal resources beneath Federal lands, which is 50.75 percent of the total available resources. The San Juan Basin, southern A train load of coal on the mainline railroad in the Powder River Basin. Photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey Coal Assessment Team. A dragline removing overburden rock from a thick coal bed in a surface mine on Federal lands in the Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming. Photograph by the U.S. Geological Survey Coal Assessment Team.

12    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources portion of the Piceance Basin, Kaiparowits Plateau, and Williston Basin each contain estimated available coal resources on Federal lands in excess of 25,000,000,000 st (or 25.0 bst). Alaska contains substantial quantities of coal resources, with an estimated 140.0 bst of identified available coal resources. Unidentified coal resources are estimated at 5.5 trillion short tons, although the actual quantity of coal resources beneath Federal lands in Alaska is unknown. The Federal Government owns more than 61 percent of the land in Alaska, and mapped coal fields, coal samples, and prospects overlap most of those Federal lands. Overall, coal mined on Federal lands represents a substantial amount of the total annual coal produced in the United States. Reported coal reserves and available coal resources on Federal lands are abundant. Additional assessment studies could provide an opportunity to (1) confirm and better define available coal resources in basins and coal fields on Federal and non-Federal lands throughout the United States and (2) examine and discuss possible environmental, societal, and technical limitations associated with developing and mining those coal resources. References Cited Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2025, Who owns/ manages Alaska?: Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, 1 sheet, scale 1:3,500,000, accessed February 11, 2026, at https://dnr.alaska.gov/pic/maplibrary/ images/y2025/WhoOwnsManagesAlaska/WhoOwns ManagesAlaskaJune2025.pdf. Black Hills Corporation, 2026, Black Hills Corporation annual report and form 10-K: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 119 p., accessed February 12, 2026, at https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/ 0001130464/000119312526046028/bkh-20251231.htm. Brownfield, M.E., Roberts, L.N.R., Johnson, E.A., and Mercier, T.J., 2000a, Assessment of the distribution and resources of coal in the Deserado coal area, lower White River coal field, northwest Colorado, chap. N of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau— Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 25 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625B. Brownfield, M.E., Roberts, L.N.R., Johnson, E.A., and Mercier, T.J., 2000b, Assessment of the distribution and resources of coal in the Fairfield Group of the Williams Fork Formation, Danforth Hills coal field, northwest Colorado, chap. M of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 55 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/ 10.3133/pp1625B. Core Natural Resources, Inc., [Core], 2025, Core Natural Resources, Inc. annual report and form 10-K: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 139 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/ Archives/edgar/data/0001710366/000171036625000010/ ceix-20241231.htm#ia1d7328d06c04422b75ad4f0d903 a14e_25. Dennen, K.O., 2009, Executive summary—The National Coal Resource Assessment overview, chap. A of Pierce, B.S., and Dennen, K.O., eds., The National Coal Resource Assessment overview: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-F, 3 p., accessed February 11, 2026, at https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1625f/downloads/ChapterA.pdf. Dubiel, R.F., Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., Mercier, T.J., and Heinrich, A., 2000, Geology and coal resources of the Blackhawk Formation in the southern Wasatch Plateau, central Utah, chap. S of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 57 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/ 10.3133/pp1625B. East, J.A., 2013, Coal fields of the conterminous United States—National Coal Resources Assessment updated version: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1205, 1 sheet, scale 1:5,000,000, accessed May 5, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121205. Ellis, M.S., Gunther, G.L., Ochs, A.M., Cavaroc, V.V., Schuenemeyer, J.H., Power, H.C., Stricker, G.D., and Blake, D., 1999a, Coal resources of the Hanna and Carbon Basins, chap. HN of Fort Union Coal Assessment Team and USGS Energy Resources Team, 1999 resource assessment of selected Tertiary coal beds and zones in the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-A, 92 p., accessed May 7, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625A.

References Cited    13 Ellis, M.S., Gunther, G.L., Ochs, A.M., Keighin, C.W., Goven, G.E., Schuenemeyer, J.H., Power, H.C., Stricker, G.D., and Blake, D., 1999b, Coal resources, Williston Basin, chap. WN of Fort Union Coal Assessment Team and USGS Energy Resources Team, 1999 resource assessment of selected Tertiary coal beds and zones in the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-A, 69 p., accessed February 23, 2026, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625A. Ellis, M.S., Gunther, G.L., Ochs, A.M., Schuenemeyer, J.H., Power, H.C., Stricker, G.D., and Blake, D., 1999c, Coal resources, Greater Green River Basin, chap. GN of Fort Union Coal Assessment Team and USGS Energy Resources Team, 1999 resource assessment of selected Tertiary coal beds and zones in the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-A, 22 p., accessed May 5, 2025, at https://doi.org/ 10.3133/pp1625A. Fassett, J.E., 2000, Geology and coal resources of the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Colorado, chap. Q of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 132 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625B. Flores, R.M., Stricker, G.D., and Kinney, S.A., 2004, Alaska coal geology, resources, and coalbed methane potential: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 77, 140 p., accessed February 11, 2026, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ds77. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-077/.] Gautier, D.L., Dolton, G.L., and Attanasi, E.D., 1998, 1995 National Oil and Gas Assessment and onshore Federal lands: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-75-N, 64 p., accessed February 6, 2026, at https://pubs.usgs.gov/ of/1995/of95-075n/Methods_assessment.htm. Hettinger, R.D., Roberts, L.N.R., Biewick, L.R.H., and Kirschbaum, M.A., 2000a, Geologic overview and resource assessment of coal in the Kaiparowits Plateau, southern Utah, chap. T of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 69 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/ 10.3133/pp1625B. Hettinger, R.D., Roberts, L.N.R., and Gognat, T.A., 2000b, Investigations of the distribution and resources of coal in the southern part of the Piceance Basin, Colorado, chap. O of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic Assessment of Coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 101 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625B. John T. Boyd Company [Boyd], 2011, Powder River Basin coal resource and cost study—Campbell, Converse and Sheridan Counties, Wyoming Big Horn, Powder River, Rosebud and Treasure Counties, Montana: Denver, Colorado, Xcel Energy, Exhibit MWR-1, prepared by John T. Boyd Company, 81 p., accessed April 6, 2026, at https://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/xe/Regulatory/ Regulatory%20PDFs/PSCo-ERP-2011/8-Roberts-Exhibit- No-MWR-1.pdf. Kentucky Geological Survey, 2025, Coal mining: Kentucky Geological Survey web page, accessed July 7, 2026, at https://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal-mining.php. Kirschbaum, M.A., and Biewick, L.R.H., 2000, A summary of the coal deposits in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, chap. B of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 99 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1625b/. Luppens, J.A., Rohrbacher, T.J., Osmonson, L.M., and Carter, M.D., 2009, Coal resource availability, recoverability, and economic evaluations in the United States—A summary, chap. D of Pierce, B.S., and Dennen, K.O., eds., The National Coal Resource Assessment overview: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-F, 17 p., accessed February 11, 2026, at https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/ 1625f/downloads/ChapterD.pdf. Luppens, J.A., Scott, D.R., Haacke, J., Osmonson, L.M., and Pierce, P.E., 2015, Coal geology and assessment of coal resources and reserves in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1809, 218 p. [Also available at https://doi.org/ 10.3133/pp1809.] Merritt, R.D., and Hawley, C.C., 1986, Map of Alaska's coal resources: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Special Report 37, 1 sheet, scale 1:2,500,000, accessed May 5, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.14509/2636.

14    Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Mine Safety and Health Administration [MSHA], 2026, Mine data retrieval system [2024, production, mines, state, and mining method]: U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration database, accessed February 17, 2026, at https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/mine-dataretrieval-system. Mining Technology [MTech], 2014, North Antelope to Black Thunder—The ten biggest coal mines in the US: Mining Technology web page, accessed February 17, 2026, at https://www.mining-technology.com/features/featurenorthantelope-to-black-thunder-the-10-biggest-coal-mines-in-theus-4319788/. Nations, J.D., Swift, R.L., and Haven, H.W., Jr., 2000, Summary of Cretaceous stratigraphy and coal distribution, Black Mesa Basin, Arizona, chap H of Kirschbaum, M.A., Roberts, L.N.R., and Biewick, L.R.H., eds., Geologic assessment of coal in the Colorado Plateau—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-B, 29 p., accessed May 6, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625B. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2016, Trapper Mine Federal coal leases C-07519 and C-079641 mining plan modification—Finding of no significant impact: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 6 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/ FONSI.pdf. 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Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2017e, Finding of no new significant impact (FONNSI)—Green Hollow Tract, Sufco Mine, mining plan modification: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 6 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/ NEPA_SufcoMine_FONNSI.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2017f, King II Mine—Federal coal lease COC-62920 modification and Federal mine permit CO-0106A revision and renewal—Mining plan modification and significant permit revision—Finding of no significant impact: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report,7 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/ NEPA_KingIIMineFONSI.pdf. 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References Cited    15 Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2024a, Coyote Creek Mine—Emergency lease of Federal coal—Serial number NDM 110277— Supplemental environmental assessment February 2024: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 46 p., accessed February 17, 2026, at https://www. osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/Coyote_Creek_ Mine_Supplemental_EA.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2024b, Finding of no significant impact—Center Mine—Federal coal lease serial number NDM-10551— Federal mining plan —Revision 8 to permit BNCR-1101: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 7 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www. osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/_8_BNICenter_ Rev8_FONSI_508Signed.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025a, Black Butte Coal Company—Federal coal lease WYW-6266 mining plan modification— Environmental impact statement: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement Environmental EISX 010-08-000-1750777552, 703 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/ files/inline-files/BlackButte_EIS_9.9.25_signed_0.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025b, Environmental assessment—Antelope Mine—Converse County, Wyoming—Mining plan for Federal coal lease WYW-177903: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 150 p., accessed February 17, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/ files/inline-files/West-Antelope-II-South-Tract-EA-Finalsigned.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025c, Final environmental impact statement and record of decision—Bull Mountain Mine No. 1— Federal mining plan for Federal lease MTM-97988: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement EISX-010-08-000-1732112615, 686 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/ default/files/inline-files/BullMtn_Final_FEIS-and-ROD_ 06052025.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025d, Finding of no significant impact— DOI-BLM-MT-0000-2025-0002-EA—Federal coal lease NDM-91535—Federal mining plan modification at Freedom Mine: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement report, 7 p., accessed February 17, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/files/inline-files/ OSMRE_Freedom_Mine_FONSI_Signed_0.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025e, Rosebud Mine Area F mining plan modification for Federal coal lease MTM-082186—Record of decision: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement SEIS-010-08-000-1732112584, 28 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/default/ files/inline-files/ROD_OSMRE_RosebudMineAreaF_2025_ 08_04_3.pdf. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement [OSMRE], 2025f, Spring Creek Mine—Mining plan modification for Federal coal leases MTM-94378 and MTM-110693—Record of decision: Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement EISX-010-08-000-1732112528, 27 p., accessed February 13, 2026, at https://www.osmre.gov/sites/ default/files/inline-files/20250307-SpringCreek_ROD_ Signed_1.pdf. Peabody Energy Corporation [Peabody], 2025, Peabody Energy Corporation annual report and form 10-K: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 150 p., accessed February 12, 2026, at https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/ Archives/edgar/data/0001064728/000106472825000018/ btu-20241231.htm. Schenk, C.J., Mercier, T.J., and the 1995-2025 National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Project Federal Lands Resource Allocation Team, 2025, An estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources underlying Federal lands of the onshore United States, 2025: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2025-3032, 6 p., accessed February 6, 2026, at https://doi.org/10.3133/ fs20253032. Scott, D.C., Shaffer, B.N., Haacke, J.E., Pierce, P.E., and Kinney, S.A., 2019, Coal geology and assessment of resources and reserves in the Little Snake River coal field and Red Desert assessment area, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1836, 169 p. [Also available at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1836.] Shaffer, B.N., Alonso, E., Johnston, M.N., and Kinney, S.A., 2026, Metallurgical coal—Deposits, production, resources, market dynamics, and supply chain risks: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2026-3061, 6 p., accessed March 31, 2026, at https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20263061. Stricker, G.D., 1999, Bull Mountain Basin, Montana, chap. SM of Fort Union Coal Assessment Team and USGS Energy Resources Team, 1999 resource assessment of selected Tertiary coal beds and zones in the northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains Region: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1625-A, 15 p., accessed May 8, 2025, at https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1625A.

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For more information concerning the research in this report, contact the Center Director, USGS Central Energy Resources Science Center Box 25046 Mail Stop 939 Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 (303) 236-1647 Or visit the Central Energy Resources Science Center website at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/central-energy-resourcesscience-center Publishing support provided by the USGS Science Publishing Network, Denver and Lafayette Publishing Service Centers

Shaffer and others—Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources—CIR 1570 ISSN 1067-084X (print) ISSN 2330-5703 (online) ISBN 978-1-4113-4677-2 https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1570