WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of the Interior has opened 13.1 million acres of federal land for coal leasing, tripling the acreage authorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and marking one of the largest expansions of federal coal access in recent history.
The move, signed by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at a “Beautiful Clean Coal” event, fulfills a central pillar of President Donald J. Trump’s energy agenda — restoring what the administration calls “American Energy Dominance” through expanded domestic production of fossil fuels and critical minerals.
“President Trump promised to put American energy workers first, and today we’re delivering,” Burgum said. “By reducing the royalty rate for coal, increasing acres available for leasing, and unlocking critical minerals from mine waste, we are strengthening our economy and protecting national security.”
The new initiative lowers federal royalty rates for coal producers and accelerates approvals for projects in major coal-producing states, including Montana, Wyoming, and Tennessee. It also expands efforts to extract valuable minerals such as uranium and rare earth elements from existing mine waste — part of a broader federal strategy to reduce dependence on foreign mineral imports.
The announcement follows the administration’s Executive Orders 14261 and 14241, which direct the Interior Department to revitalize the U.S. coal industry and ramp up domestic mineral extraction. The Bureau of Land Management will oversee the expanded leasing process, while the U.S. Geological Survey will coordinate with states to map mineral-rich mine waste sites for potential recovery.
Several major lease sales are already underway, including projects at Freedom Mine and Falkirk Mine in North Dakota and expansions at Warrior Met, Skyline, Spring Creek, and West Antelope III. Combined, these sites represent hundreds of millions of tons of coal and decades of projected energy output.
Complementing this expansion, the Department announced that a coal lease sale in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, generated over $46 million in revenue and opened 14,050 acres containing 53 million tons of metallurgical coal — a critical component in steelmaking. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC, won the bid for both parcels, with royalties to be shared equally between the federal government and the state of Alabama.
“This lease sale is another example of how the Department of the Interior is delivering on President Trump’s commitment to unleash American energy, strengthen rural economies, and secure fair returns for the American people,” Burgum said.
Interior officials said the measures align with the Trump administration’s “all-of-the-above” strategy — prioritizing affordable, abundant domestic energy while reducing reliance on foreign sources and boosting job creation in energy-producing regions.
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