Overview
- Interior postponed Wednesday’s sale of 3,508 acres in Wyoming’s Campbell and Converse counties, an area estimated to contain 365 million tons of recoverable coal.
- The Montana Powder River Basin auction on Monday drew one bid from Navajo Transitional Energy Company of $186,000 for roughly 167.5 million tons of coal.
- BLM has not accepted the Montana offer because it must first determine whether the bid meets fair‑market‑value requirements.
- The Interior Department blamed policies under Presidents Obama and Biden for weak participation and said the Trump administration is rebuilding industry confidence.
- Recent reporting and energy data cite falling coal prices and planned power‑plant retirements as key factors depressing lease demand, even as DOE announced $625 million for coal infrastructure this year.