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

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

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Plain Language Summary .............................................................................................................................1 Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Coal Rank Classifications .............................................................................................................................6 Coal Resources and Coal Reserves ............................................................................................................7 Coal Mines on Federal Lands.......................................................................................................................8 Coal Reserves Beneath Federal Lands ......................................................................................................9 Coal Resources Beneath Federal Lands ....................................................................................................9 Alaska Coal Resources ...............................................................................................................................11 Summary........................................................................................................................................................11 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................12

Figures

1. Map showing coal resources by rank and the distribution of Federal lands in
2. A flow chart showing the progression of coal rank classifications.....................................6
3. A flow chart of coal resources and reserve classifications used in this report ................8
4. Map of Alaska showing Federal lands and known coal fields............................................10

Tables

1. A list of coal mines and reported coal reserves beneath Federal lands, as of 2024 .........3 2 The 2024 total coal mines, reported production, and reported reserves beneath
2. Available coal resources beneath Federal lands in major coal-bearing areas in

Conversion Factors

the conterminous United States.................................................................................................2

Federal lands per State................................................................................................................4

the conterminous United States.................................................................................................5 vi

Temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) may be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (°F) as follows:

°F = (1.8 × °C) + 32.

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.

Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Introduction Coal Beneath Federal Lands in the United States—Mines, Reserves, and Resources Introduction 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 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

Coal Resources and Coal Reserves

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.

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.

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

Coal Resources Beneath Federal Lands

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 coal-bearing 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

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.

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

Summary

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

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.

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CIR 1570, ver. 1.1

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