Trump Greenlights Major Coal Boost at Wyoming’s Antelope Mine

One of the biggest coal operations in the Powder River Basin just got the green light to dig deeper — literally. The Antelope Mine in Converse County is set to unlock 14.5 million tons of federally owned coal, thanks to a mining plan modification signed off last week under the Trump administration. That’s a little more than half of what the mine produces in a typical year.

The West Antelope II South Tract expansion lets the mine keep moving west toward Highway 59. Operated by the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, the Antelope Mine cranks out between 20 and 25 million tons annually, making it the third-largest coal mine in the country. It also keeps about 400 miners on the payroll.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called the move proof the administration is “delivering on its promise to revitalize American coal,” while Acting Assistant Secretary Adam Suess tied it to “commonsense permitting” and “energy dominance.” The decision also comes with a sweeter deal for the industry — the federal mineral royalty rate on coal drops from 12.5% to 7%, which Wyoming lawmakers estimate will cost the state about $50 million a year in revenue.

According to the Wyoming Mining Association, this plan had been stuck in limbo for years. Technically, it could have been approved under the Biden administration’s “no new coal leases” rule because the lease was already in hand. But industry leaders say the Office of Surface Mining basically stopped moving on these amendments under Biden.

That changed when Trump signed the “Big Beautiful Bill”, which directs Interior to speed up already-approved leases. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon praised the decision and urged the feds to do the same for another pending plan — the Black Butte Mine expansion in Sweetwater County.

The Interior Department has opened a 10-day public comment period on Black Butte’s plan, which would free up another 9.2 million tons of federal coal. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management is working to roll back Biden’s leasing ban in the Powder River Basin and map out future leasing areas in Wyoming and Montana.

After years of decline, Wyoming coal production has shown a small rebound in 2025, bouncing slightly above last year’s sub-200-million-ton output. If the trend — and the permitting — keep going, the Antelope expansion could be the first of many more federal coal projects to come.

The original story by Dustin Bleizeffer for WyoFile.