Spring Creek Coal Mine

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Spring Creek Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Decker, Montana, United States.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Spring Creek Coal Mine	Decker, Montana, United States	45.0497, -106.7731 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1980	–

Table 3: Operation details

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	11.29898544	2023	Surface	Open Pit	2	45	251

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
196.1	2020	–	Powder River Basin	Subbituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Navajo Transitional Energy Company	Navajo Transitional Energy Company LLC [100%]	USA

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	11	12	10	8	11	10	11

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Cancelled	Permitted	Expansion	–	4	2020

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Expansion Details

• Start Year: 2020
• Capacity: 5 mtpa (18 mtpa total)

Background

Spring Creek Mine is a surface coal mine, operated by Navajo Transitional Energy Company, and owned by the Navajo Nation, producing 13.7 million short tons per annum, in Decker, Montana, United States. The mine was previously owned by Rio Tinto Energy America. In 2008 Rio Tinto spun the most significant of its Powder River Basin coal assets — including the Spring Creek Mine — off into Cloud Peak Energy, a company in which Rio Tinto has a 48.3% stake.

In March 2019, a U.S. federal magistrate ruled that Cloud Energy's plans to expand the mine (adding 120 million tons of reserves) were insufficient, because they failed to adequately consider the potential climate change impacts of expanding the mine.

In June, 2011 Cloud Peak Energy signed a 10-year deal to ship basin coal to Asia from a port on Canada’s Pacific Coast. Cloud Peak Energy Inc. signed the deal with Westshore Terminals to ship coal through its Westshore Terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company shipped 3.3 million tons of coal through the terminal to Asian customers in 2010. Cloud Energy operates the Antelope Coal Mine, Cordero Rojo Mine, Spring Creek Mine, Decker Mine, and Jacobs Ranch Mine in the Powder River Basin.

The workforce was furloughed for four months during the Covid 19 pandemic.

• Operator: Navajo Transitional Energy Company
• Owner: Navajo Nation
• Location: Decker, Big Horn county, Montana, United States
• GPS coordinates: 45.0497, 106.7731
• Production: 13,768,055 short tons (2018)
• Mineable Reserve: 329 million tons permitted with 189.9 million tonnes proven and probable
• Type of coal: Subbituminous
• Mine type: Surface
• Mine depth: 150 feet
• Equipment:
• Number of employees: 185
• Start Year: 1981

Expansion

In March 2020, the state of Montana approved an expansion of the mine, which may increase capacity to 18 million tons per annum, until 2031. A year later, in February 2021, a U.S. District judge blocked the proposed expansion.

In 2021, a federal judge blocked the proposed expansion.

External links

• "Major U.S. Coal Mines," Energy Information Administration
• "Spring Creek Mine Factsheet" Rio Tinto Energy America
• "Air Quality Permit" Montana DEQ

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.