The Bureau of Land Management is considering allowing access to 177 million tons of coal for Spring Creek Mine, expanding Montana’s largest coal mine and potentially lengthening its lifespan.

According to a BLM release, Navajo Transitional Energy Company has proposed continued operations through 2034 for the mine located in southern Big Horn County. It’s the eighth-largest coal mine in the United States, producing around 12 million tons of coal per year, based on production records from 2023 . Roughly 280 people are employed full-time with the mine.

BLM granting the lease-by-application to Spring Creek Mine would likely be illegal currently, according to Montana Environmental Information Center deputy director Derf Johnson. A regional resource management plan approved by the agency

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