The Trump administration plans to auction off coal leases on federal lands in Alabama, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming to support the declining coal industry. U.S. coal production has dropped 40% from 2013 to 2023 due to regulations and competition from natural gas. Former President Biden’s administration had stopped issuing new coal leases.

The sales will allow companies to pay a 7% royalty rate to the federal government, down from 12.5% or 8% before Trump’s tax law change. The National Mining Association expects significant interest in the auctions. The first sale will begin in Alabama, followed by Utah, Montana, and Wyoming auctions.

The Alabama auction will offer two leases for mining beneath 14,050 acres of private land with an estimated 53 million tons of metallurgical coal. The tracts are near mines owned by Warrior Met Coal. Following Alabama, Utah’s Little Eccles Tract will be auctioned, holding an estimated 1.29 million tons of coal recoverable by Canyon Fuel Company.

On October 6, the BLM will auction 1,262 acres in Montana with an estimated 167.5 million tons of recoverable coal. Two days later, 3,508 acres in Wyoming with an estimated 365 million tons of coal will be auctioned. The Navajo Transitional Energy Company, owned by the Navajo Nation, operates mines in those areas.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: US coal auctions will test industry appetite for Trump mining revival