Feb 5, 2021: Montana coal mine closes amid decline in demand
It is not unusual to read about coal mines in the high-sulfur Illinois Basin closing, but now the low-sulfur Powder River Basin is being impacted by the closure of coal-fired power plants.
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| CoalAge "The Decker mine is in the northwest portion of Powder River Basin. It produces approximately 5 million metric tons of coal per year." [I don't know if this was a file photo of a mine or if this dragline is in the Decker Mine.] |
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| missoulian Decker's production has fallen from 7 million tones in 2006 to 3 million tons in 2011. [I found draglines in the mine across the wastewater pond here and here. But according to Google Map, Spring Creek Mine is northwest of Decker. I could not find a dragline there. Then I learned that the mines on each side of the wastewater pond are East Decker and West Decker. [gem]] |
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| TheSheridanPress, pay count of 6 |
I could not find any shovels in any of the three mining operations in this area until I saw the photos in this article. I'm saving the satellite image because who know how long this shovel will still be here.
According to the road map, they built a new dam further south and significantly expanded the wastewater pond.
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| Road Map |
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| Satellite |
This article says it is the first Powder River Basin mine to close. The first part of that article says the state controls a $126.4 million bond that should cover the cleanup costs. And the bond isn't vulnerable to the bankruptcy outcome. But later in the article, it says the company wants to rob the pension and medical benefits to help pay for cleanup. I'm of the opinion that any executive that decides to underfund and/or rob a pension fund should be put in jail. Didn't we learn anything from the consumer electronics and smokestack business failures during the 1970s and 1980s? But I understand that if holding decision makers accountable for their decisions was true, Illinois state government would already have some people in jail.
It might be the first to close, but in the region a lot of them have been in economic trouble for years. Coal is not doing well, and all signs are that it will not return.
ReplyDeleteArch announced on Tuesday that they're closing their Coal Creek Mine, which is also in the Powder River Basin. In that instance, it's in Wyoming.