MARKETS

Montana Land Board approved mine expansion

MONTANA's Land Board has approved the expansion of an underground coal operation north of Billing...

Sadie Davidson

Tuesday's unanimous vote by the board that oversees state-owned property will allow Ohio-based Signal Peak Energy to double the size of its Bull Mountain mine, reports the Billings Gazette.

The planned expansion covers 7160 acres and is expected to generate $US127.2million from taxes and royalties.

Despite resistance from local environmental groups, the expansion was approved due to the positive contribution it would make to the local economy.

"Those 325 people who work at Bull Mountain combined make about $40 million a year,” board member Tim Fox said. "That's money that is spent in local stores and is important to the economy."

The state Department of Environmental Quality agreed to the mine expansion last October while The federal Bureau of Land Management approved the leasing of federal coal reserves involved in the expansion in 2012.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production