By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) submitted a bid of $186,000 for a federal coal lease in southeastern Montana, marking the largest U.S. coal sale in over a decade. The offer, equating to one-tenth of a penny per ton, highlights coal’s decreasing value despite efforts to increase its mining and burning. While the sale occurred near NTEC’s Spring Creek mine, which faces declining domestic demand as power plants retire, the lease is located in the Powder River Basin. The future demand for this coal is uncertain, especially since many plants have chosen alternatives such as natural gas, wind, and solar.
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Company bids less than a penny per ton in biggest US coal sale in over a decade. Talk about a deal! It’s not every day you hear about a company getting the rights to coal at a price so low it practically disappears into the accounting books. The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) offered a mere one-tenth of a penny per ton, which is astonishingly cheap. To put it in perspective, imagine getting to buy a ton of coal for a price that rounds down to nothing in everyday transactions. The fact that this is the largest coal sale in over a decade makes the situation all the more head-scratching.
There’s a certain irony here, isn’t there? A Native American company, a group historically impacted by the industry, now potentially leveraging it to secure their own interests. It’s a complex dance of historical context, economic realities, and the shifting sands of energy policy. The government’s decision to proceed with the sale during a government shutdown adds another layer of intrigue. While some federal workers were furloughed, those responsible for reviewing fossil fuel projects kept working.
Priorities are definitely being shown here, aren’t they? You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Well, apparently, in this case, you get less than 16 cents, if you are a canny negotiator. The fact that this was the only bid received begs the question: Why? Was it the specific characteristics of the coal, the location, or perhaps the overall climate surrounding the coal industry? Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the conditions were favorable for the buyer. Remember, this is the right to mine the coal, not the already-mined product. The actual extraction, transportation, and environmental concerns that come with it are still the responsibility of the purchaser.
Navajo’s history with coal is complicated, to say the least. The region is home to polluting coal plants, which have contributed to respiratory problems. Seeing a Navajo-owned company involved in the industry is a fascinating situation. Given the current administration’s leanings towards fossil fuels, the use of coal for AI and crypto farms, seems almost inevitable.
I can just imagine the gloating – “We got a beautiful, great offer. It was so beautiful that we didn’t think about refusing it when we accepted it.” The language would be all about winning and “great deals.” The reality, however, is that this is a potential lifeline for an industry in decline and an indictment of our current understanding of energy transition.
And what about the miners? The people whose livelihoods depend on this industry? The economic and health burdens of the industry have always fallen disproportionately on this demographic. There are more discussions about creating new uses for coal, such as powering vehicles and houses. But is this a solution or a delay tactic, prolonging the inevitable transition towards cleaner energy sources?
The EPA is a joke. Stopping renewables and bringing back coal. The air will get dirtier with coal-powered AI and crypto server farms. The world is moving away to cleaner options, but the US is doubling down on its past mistakes. The fact that this deal went through with the government shutdown, which is what?
The important thing is that this was the only bid. I would love to know why. In Michigan we were shutting down coal power plants. Don’t need them no more. But Trump making us waste money by keeping it going and no use for its power. If the Navajo tribe gets this land I’m going to be ecstatic.
The history of land and resources in this country. The land was taken from indigenous people, and now the native people are potentially benefiting from it. It’s a complex story, full of a certain kind of justice. The fact that it is a lease for mining the rights, rather than a purchase of the land, is also a crucial detail. But it is an attempt to make amends for some of the damages caused by the industry in the past.
I hope they buy the rights and choose to keep it in the ground. This is a real question: Does this company intend to mine, or are they trying to control the rights in order to prevent further damage? The context is everything. The idea that the money should go towards renewable energy is not wrong.
The low price is certainly striking. One-tenth of a penny per ton, translating to 1.6 cents for every sixteen tons mined. It feels like something out of a novelty song about poverty and the costs of labor. This is the point. Our shared national land was sold out cheap.
We kind of already have coal-powered AI. At least a handful of previously-closed coal power plants have been bought in order to be reopened and retooled to power AI datacenters. It is a fascinating and rather disturbing future, isn’t it? It has the potential to be both a technical marvel and an ecological disaster. The economics of it have shifted the retooling of old coal plants to run on natural gas. Forget steampunk. You’ll get smogpunk and you’ll like it.
The miners are what it always boils down to. They voted Trump. Hillary wanted to help them leave that industry behind, and Trump promised to keep them in the mines. He even called what Hillary was doing a war on coal. The political and economic context of this sale is impossible to ignore.
Ultimately, there’s a lot of irony and a hint of historical justice in the Navajo company’s involvement. Even with the industry’s dwindling prospects and growing environmental concerns, the fact that a Native American company, using, perhaps, funds derived from the gaming industry, could be benefiting from this opportunity is interesting. The entire deal is a reminder of the complex interplay of economics, politics, and the environment in the 21st century. It’s a story that’s far from over, and the implications will be felt for years to come.