The U.S. Interior Department has approved a plan by Signal Peak Energy to expand coal mining operations, aiming to increase coal exports to Japan and South Korea. The decision, announced Friday, follows President Donald Trump’s directives to accelerate energy production and secure strategic exports, Reuters reported.
The approval allows the Montana-based company to extract 22.8 million metric tons of federal coal, along with 34.5 million tons of adjacent non-federal coal, extending the life of the Bull Mountains mine by nine years.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who also serves as co-chair of Trump’s Energy Dominance Council, emphasized the importance of increasing federal coal production to strengthen ties with international allies.
“President Trump’s leadership in declaring a national energy emergency is allowing us to act decisively, cut bureaucratic delays and secure America’s future through energy independence and strategic exports,” Burgum said.
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On January 20, Trump declared a national energy emergency aimed at speeding up permitting processes, rolling back environmental regulations, and withdrawing the U.S. from an international climate agreement.
Signal Peak first submitted its expansion plan to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in 2020. Since then, the proposal has undergone federal review and faced litigation.
The Interior Department completed the environmental impact statement for the expansion under a new policy that limits such reviews to a maximum of 28 days.
Earlier this week, Burgum joined Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Alaska to promote an LNG project and other energy exports targeted at Asian markets.
The Bull Mountains mine, located in Montana’s Musselshell and Yellowstone counties, employs over 250 workers and primarily supplies coal to Japan and South Korea.
However, environmental groups have opposed the mine’s expansion, citing concerns about water use and greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s utter hogwash that we have to sacrifice the climate, water resources, wildlife and area ranching operations in order to send coal overseas to be burned by foreign countries,” said Anne Hedges, executive director of the Montana Environmental Information Center.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
