HVO is jointly owned by Yancoal, which holds a 51% stake, and Glencore, which holds the remaining 49%. The operation produces thermal and semi-soft steelmaking coal for export and is independently managed on behalf of its joint venture owners.

The approval marks a significant regulatory milestone for the coal extension, although the project still requires Federal Government environmental approval before operations can continue beyond the existing approvals.

Hunter Valley Operations Set for Extended Mine Life

The HVO Continuation Project is designed to recover additional coal resources within existing mining tenements and extend the operating life of both HVO North and HVO South.

Under the approved project:

• HVO North’s mine life would extend from 2026 to 2045
• HVO South’s mine life would extend from 2030 to 2042
• Additional coal resources would be recovered within existing mining areas

The coal extension follows a six-year regulatory assessment process involving changes to the project’s design. Glencore said the project was amended during the assessment to align with NSW and Federal Government legislative guidelines, environmental standards and climate change policies.

The IPC decision therefore provides approval at the state planning level for the proposed coal extension, while leaving a further federal environmental requirement outstanding.

Federal Approval Remains for Coal Extension

Glencore said the HVO Continuation Project remains subject to Federal Government environmental approval, which is required by the end of December 2026 for operations to continue.

The additional approval requirement means the coal extension has not yet received all necessary regulatory clearances. The NSW IPC approval represents the latest step following the project’s extended assessment process, but continued operations under the proposed timeline depend on the federal environmental decision.

The project is focused on extending production from an established mining complex rather than developing a new greenfield operation. By allowing further resources to be recovered from existing tenements, the coal extension is intended to maintain HVO’s production activity across both mining areas over the coming decades.

HVO remains an important part of Glencore’s Australian coal business, producing export thermal and semi-soft steelmaking coal. The proposed coal extension would keep the operations active for longer periods, subject to the remaining Federal Government environmental approval.

The shares are being transferred by Bayan Resources President Director Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter Elaine Low, who together hold the largest shareholdings in the company. The purchase price for the 30 percent strategic stake has not been disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to conditions precedent that have not been publicly detailed. Because completion depends on those conditions, the Bayan Resources acquisition has not been finalized.

Earlier in September, it was reported that Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad had made a separate US$3 billion cash offer for a 62 percent stake in the coal producer. That earlier reported offer is distinct from the current conditional agreement covering 30 percent of shares, and no public confirmation has linked the two as parts of a single transaction.

Scale of the Businesses Involved

The conditional agreement brings together two significant operators in the Indonesian coal sector. Jhonlin Group, the broader business group controlled by Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, requested a mining quota of 60 million tonnes for 2026. Bayan Resources, meanwhile, produced approximately 68 million tonnes in 2025, establishing it as a major thermal coal exporter. Those production figures illustrate the substantial scale of both businesses, though the current Bayan Resources acquisition agreement covers a 30 percent strategic stake rather than operational control or a merger of the two companies’ mining activities.

Bayan Resources was founded by Low Tuck Kwong, who built the company into one of Indonesia’s most prominent coal producers. The potential transfer of a significant portion of shares held by Low and his daughter to Jhonlin Baratama represents a notable development in coal ownership at one of the country’s leading exporters.

Regulatory Context and Industry Background

Indonesia is the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal, and developments among its top producers carry weight across the broader market. Earlier in 2026, the Indonesian government cut Bayan’s production quota, a decision that led the company to declare force majeure. Other major coal producers in the country were largely spared from those enforced output reductions. While that regulatory backdrop is relevant context for the operating environment Bayan faces, the current conditional agreement between Jhonlin Baratama and the Low family shareholders stands as a separate corporate development.

The Bayan Resources acquisition agreement, should it reach completion, would mark one of the more significant changes in coal ownership among top-tier Indonesian thermal coal producers. Market attention is expected to focus on the conditions attached to the share transfer and the final terms once they are disclosed. At this stage, the transaction remains conditional, and no further details on pricing or the specific conditions precedent have been made public.

The Navajo Mine, located around 22 miles from Farmington, is operated by Navajo Transitional Energy Co., the enterprise arm of the Navajo Nation. Under the new permit, the mine could produce coal at a rate of 5 million to 15 million tons per year depending on demand. The new permit boundary covers approximately 11,500 acres.

Federal Approval Covers Major Mine Expansion

The federal approval for the Navajo Coal Mine Expansion followed a public participation process during which the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement received comments from 32 people. Among the issues raised were concerns about air quality, human health and water quality.

Lanny Erdos, director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement within the Department of the Interior, said the agency was committed to ensuring that permitting decisions for surface mining on Indian lands are transparent and based on rigorous environmental review. Erdos added that the public scoping process allowed the agency to gather input that would help ensure actions taken honour the sovereignty of the Navajo people, respect their land and carefully consider potential environmental and community impacts.

Economic considerations played a central role in the federal government’s decision. Without the expansion, the Navajo Nation faced the loss of revenue from the Navajo Mine when existing permits expire in 2041. The mine accounts for around one quarter of the tribe’s general fund, making its continued operation a significant financial matter for the nation.

Navajo Mine Faces Long Term Production and Environmental Questions

The Navajo Coal Mine Expansion has divided local residents. Supporters have pointed to the economic benefits the mine brings to the region, while critics have raised concerns about pollution and health impacts associated with coal mining and coal production in New Mexico coal country.

The federal government acknowledged in its record of decision that denying the permit would have been the cleanest option from an environmental standpoint. A spokesperson for the agency said it remains committed to responsible stewardship of the environment while fostering energy resilience.

The new permit comes with conditions. It must be renewed every five years and carries a right to renewal, provided the mine meets its permit terms and does not violate environmental standards. This structure means the federal approval is not a permanent authorisation but an ongoing obligation for the operator.

The Navajo Mine currently sells coal to the Four Corners Power Plant, operated by Arizona Public Service. That plant was scheduled to retire in 2031, though the Arizona utility is now considering continuing operations until no later than 2038 to support energy reliability as the state grows.

The decision underscores the economic weight of coal mining for the Navajo Nation and the complex balance between resource development and environmental stewardship that shapes federal permitting on tribal lands.

That change does not mean coal mine development has stopped. The global project pipeline remains large, with around 2,533 million tonnes per year of proposed coal-mining capacity across 837 projects. Around 700 million tonnes per year is already under construction, while much of the remaining pipeline is still at earlier stages and depends on permitting, financing and investment decisions.

This is where the new phase of coal mine development becomes more complicated. A project can take years to move from planning to production, while the market it is designed to serve can change during that period. Companies therefore have to look more closely at future demand, capital requirements, infrastructure and the expected working life of a mine before committing to new capacity.

The challenge is not simply deciding whether more coal can be produced. It is deciding which projects can remain commercially useful over the long term.

Global Coal Demand is Moving Toward a More Stable Market

The demand outlook is now a central part of coal mine development decisions. Global coal demand rose only around 0.5% in 2025, reaching approximately 8.85 billion tonnes, after stronger growth in the previous year. The IEA expects global demand to remain broadly around current levels toward 2030 rather than continue expanding at the pace seen during earlier periods of growth.

That creates a different planning environment for mining companies. New mines are long-life assets, often requiring major investment in extraction equipment, transport infrastructure, processing facilities and supporting utilities. If demand is stable rather than rapidly increasing, the ability of a new project to secure a reliable market becomes more important.

The picture also varies across regions and between types of coal. China and India together accounted for about 71% of global coal consumption in 2024, making developments in these markets especially important to the wider industry. Thermal coal remains closely tied to electricity generation, while metallurgical coal is more directly linked to steel production. The two markets therefore face different demand conditions even though both sit within the broader coal industry.

For developers, this makes demand forecasting more important throughout the project cycle. A mine that takes many years to build has to be assessed against the market that is likely to exist when production actually begins, not only the market that exists when the project is first proposed.

A Large Project Pipeline is Meeting a More Selective Market

The scale of the current coal mine development pipeline makes the changing demand picture more significant. Global Energy Monitor’s 2026 data identifies around 2,533 million tonnes per year of proposed capacity across 837 projects, with approximately 700 million tonnes per year already under construction. Yet the number of new mine openings has fallen by more than half since 2024.

The pipeline is also heavily concentrated. Five countries account for roughly 92% of proposed coal-mining capacity, with China alone representing more than half of the global pipeline. That concentration means the future supply picture will be shaped by decisions being made in a relatively small number of major coal-producing markets.

The gap between proposed capacity and actual new production is important. A project sitting in a development pipeline is not the same as a mine that is already producing. Many projects still need approvals, financing, final investment decisions, infrastructure and construction before they can contribute to supply.

For mining companies, that creates a more selective development environment. Project quality, development timing and access to infrastructure can matter just as much as the size of the underlying resource. It also means that a large project pipeline should not automatically be read as a sign that all of that capacity will eventually reach production.

Coal Mine Development is Becoming More Selective

The size of the global pipeline does not mean every proposed project will reach production. New coal mine development now has to compete with a market where demand is close to a plateau and where the cost of building and operating mines remains significant. The IEA estimates that coal prices moderated in 2025, with Newcastle 6,000 kcal/kg coal averaging about US$104 per tonne, down 22% from 2024. At the same time, annual capital requirements for coal production remain substantial across major exporting countries, including more than US$5 billion in Indonesia and more than US$2 billion for thermal coal in Australia.

This makes the quality of a mining project increasingly important. A new mine has to be assessed not only by the size of its resource, but also by its production costs, access to transport, infrastructure requirements, expected mine life and the market it is expected to serve. Projects that already have access to established infrastructure can have a different risk profile from greenfield developments that require new roads, railways, power systems or export facilities.

The distinction between thermal and metallurgical coal also matters. Thermal coal remains closely tied to electricity demand, while metallurgical coal depends more on steel production. Their markets are therefore moving differently, which means the same development strategy cannot be applied across every type of coal mine. The IEA expects global metallurgical coal demand to decline through 2030, but with different regional trends, including stronger growth in India and Indonesia.

The changing market is also visible further downstream. In 2025, global coal-fired power capacity increased by 3.5%, while actual coal-fired generation fell by 0.6%. New coal capacity additions reached 97.4 GW, but most of that growth was concentrated in China and India.

Capital, Infrastructure and Timing are Shaping the Next Wave of Coal Mines

The economics of coal mine development are also shaped by what has to be built around the mine. A large resource does not become a producing asset without roads, railways, ports, power, processing facilities and other supporting infrastructure. For export-oriented projects, these requirements can become a major part of the investment case.

The IEA estimates that coal production in major exporting countries will require significant annual capital expenditure through 2030. Indonesia requires more than US$5 billion annually, while Australia requires more than US$2 billion for thermal coal and about US$1.6 billion for metallurgical coal. South Africa’s annual requirement for thermal coal is around US$1.8 billion. These figures include both sustaining investment and expansion capital.

Timing matters as well. A project that takes several years to build can enter a very different market from the one that existed when the mine was first proposed. That is particularly important when demand is stable and prices have moved lower from recent highs. The development pipeline therefore needs to be viewed as a group of potential projects rather than a guaranteed addition to future production.

This is creating a more selective environment for new mines. Projects with strong resources, established infrastructure, competitive production costs and clear market access may have an advantage, while higher-cost developments can face greater pressure before reaching construction.

For the mining industry, the next phase of coal mine development is therefore likely to depend less on how much capacity can be proposed and more on which projects can justify the capital required to bring that capacity into operation.

Conclusion

Coal remains a major part of the global mining industry, but the environment for developing new mines is changing. Demand is moving toward a plateau, coal prices have moderated, and actual mine openings are slowing even as a large project pipeline remains in place.

For companies developing new assets, this makes project quality, capital discipline, infrastructure and long-term market access more important than simply adding production capacity. coal mine development is entering a phase where the strongest projects will need to be evaluated against the market that is likely to exist when they finally begin producing, not only the market that exists when they are proposed.

Coal demand grew by less than 0.5% in 2025 and is expected to plateau through 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Coal-fired electricity generation declined 0.6% during the same period, while wind and solar power together overtook coal in global electricity generation for the first time. Yet the global coal mine pipeline continued to grow, widening the gap between planned supply and actual demand.

China and India Lead Proposed Coal Capacity

China continues to hold the largest share of the global coal mine pipeline, with 1,321 Mtpa of proposed capacity. This accounts for more than half the worldwide total and exceeds the proposed capacity of all other countries combined. China’s proposed coal mine development remained relatively flat year on year.

India, on the other hand, recorded the sharpest increase. Its proposed coal mining capacity nearly doubled from 329 Mtpa in 2024 to 638 Mtpa in 2025, accounting for nearly all of the annual growth in the global coal mine pipeline. The surge was largely linked to Jharkhand and Odisha, where proposed mine projects doubled.

India’s Ministry of Coal set a target of nearly 1.15 billion tonnes of raw coal production for FY2025-26, citing growing energy requirements from heatwaves, economic growth and energy-security concerns. More than 20 new coal mines with combined capacity above 80 Mtpa were planned to be operationalised.

Five Countries Dominate the Global Pipeline

Coal mine development is increasingly concentrated in a handful of nations. China, India, Australia, Russia and South Africa together account for nearly 92% of proposed global coal capacity, equivalent to about 2,314 Mtpa of the 2,521 Mtpa total. Their combined share rose from 89% in 2024.

Around three-quarters of proposed capacity across the global coal mine pipeline consists of greenfield mines rather than expansions of existing operations. In India, greenfield projects account for roughly 80% of proposed capacity, underlining the scale of new coal mine development being planned.

New Mine Development Slows Despite Larger Pipeline

While the proposed pipeline expanded, actual coal mine commissioning moved in the opposite direction. Only around 113 Mtpa of new coal mining capacity entered operation in 2025, nearly 40% lower than the 185 Mtpa added in 2024. This marked a new decade low for coal mine commissioning.

The report noted that the gap between slowing demand and expanding project pipelines raises concerns about future project economics and the possibility of stranded assets. The disconnect between the growing global coal mine pipeline and weakening market fundamentals suggests that a significant portion of proposed capacity may face economic headwinds in the years ahead.

The idea is that coal is not only a great source of fuel, but it also has small quantities of precious metals in it. For a country such as China which mines and burns massive amounts of the material, disregarding this resource is equivalent to throwing money on the table.

Explains Dai Shifeng, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, “The coal refuse contains a variety of metal elements and could become an important source of critical metal supply.”

What is recommended is not only the utilisation of fly ash, which is the waste left after the combustion of coal, but also what is commonly referred to as gangue. This is the rocky junk that usually gets mixed in with the coal as it gets mined.

Waste coal to metal resource

Coal occurs in seams or layers, often interbedded alongside layers of non-coal. They are frequently filtered out and just dumped as waste. As for fly ash, once the carbon is burnt away, the ash that remains is full of small mineral fragments that are often captured in smokestacks.

In the past, this ash has been dumped as industrial waste, mixed into cement or piled up. However, chemically speaking, this ash often has unexpectedly high levels of rare earth metals, aluminium compounds, etc.

These metals are critical for some advanced sectors like batteries, semiconductors, optics, motors, along with military applications. China has already been a leading supplier of many conventional mining and supply products, so any novel way to make money for old rope could be an important possible revenue stream.

Further, China already has the industrial base to employ waste materials such as fly ash and gangue to be a potential source for metals. Its huge coal infrastructure, coal-to-chemical plants as well as processing plants are easily adaptable to bear the weight.

The report explains that on-board facilities for regular washing, chemical processing and power generation are already available on coal production lines of China, offering a strong industrial basis for resource recovery. In short, China knows how to do this and has the capability to do it. The coal waste has already been highly concentrated where it ought to be for processing, i.e., concentrated within industrial areas.

Such a move would not just help feed the exploding EV, battery as well as electronics industries of China, but also assist it in meeting its goals of reducing reliance on imports. It would also help these individuals reduce waste, get the most value for their money out of coal mining and consumption, and assist them in effectively vertically integrating their supply chains.

Seems obvious; however, there is a catch – not all coal is identical, and different mines have distinct geological conditions with very different mineral traces within the coal produced.

At power plants, coal from various sources can be mixed, and the resultant fly ash may differ significantly in structure. This means, in fact, that one batch of fly ash might be loaded with something such as gallium while another has barely any.

That would render the extraction of critical metals from coal waste erratic and possibly not economically feasible if the process of extraction is costly.

The report further said that as the new energy industry develops rapidly, the need for critical metals is increasing, so the extraction of critical metals from coal waste is highly probable, and China’s expertise in germanium extraction offers a firm foundation for the extraction of various other metals.

Through creating high-fidelity hydrodynamic as well as chemical models, the team has gone ahead and cleared a prominent technical hurdle when it comes to determining how this kind of defunct site can get repurposed for Pumped Storage Hydropower – PSH.

This development provides a dual solution for the US energy spectrum as it offers the long-duration storage that is required for a carbon-neutral grid while at the same time revitalizing the former mining communities.

Reimagining the water battery

It is well to be noted that the traditional Pumped Storage Hydropower is often called a water battery, as it works through moving water between two reservoirs that are based at different elevations.

The fact is that when the energy is cheap or even abundant, like during a sunny afternoon, the water is pumped uphill. When the demand spikes, the water gets released by way of turbines in order to generate electricity.

While PSH at present comprises more than 90% of all the utility-scale energy storage across the U.S., its progress has been historically stalled because of geography. Standard facilities need massive mountains or hills in order to come up with the required height differential, which is also called the head.

Interestingly, the ORNL breakthrough shifts this paradigm through moving the operation underground.

This approach makes use of the present infrastructure through making use of deep shafts of abandoned mines as a lower reservoir rather than building novel mountainside facilities.

Through doing so, the technology can get expanded to follow the geographic regions that were previously ineligible when it comes to hydropower. Apart from this, making use of these present tunnels and shafts prominently cuts down the cost of construction and also speeds up the rollout timelines.

Withstanding chemical erosion and stability risks

Repurposing a coal mine is indeed pretty intricate, as the environment that exists inside a mine is undoubtedly chemically active and also structurally complex. The senior researcher from ORNL, Thien Nguyen, went on to note that while the underground PSH is indeed quite an exciting opportunity, the industry has to first overcome the barriers of chemical erosion along with the stability of structure.

The fact is that the new ORNL models enable engineers to simulate accurately as to how water goes through such specific tunnels and how it actually tends to interact with the native minerals. This enables the researchers to forecast the corrosion risks through identifying how the leftover minerals might as well damage the turbines that are expensive.

It also helps the researchers to go ahead and evaluate structural integrity in order to make sure that the fast movement of water under high pressure does not lead to fracture or a collapse of the mine walls.

Says Thien Nguyen, “Underground PSH is an exciting opportunity, but we have to overcome challenges like chemical erosion and structural stability.”

Future economics along with system analysis

The fact is that now, the ORNL team is going towards a complete techno-economic evaluation.

The science writer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Galen Fader, opined, “Our modeling tools will help industry partners evaluate these risks and make informed decisions about facility design, construction, and operations at specific locations of interest.”

Notably, the researchers also look forward to conducting system efficiency analyses in order to ascertain the best practices when it comes to facility construction along with operations at certain specific locations of interest.

Through turning the environmental liabilities into grid-scale assets, the research could soon enable the very mines that at one point of time powered the industrial age to balance and stabilize the future of clean energy.

It is well to be noted that a coal block refers to a specific geographic area that contains coal reserves that have been designated especially for exploration or mining.

Apparently, this auction follows a Department of Justice – DOJ opinion that the present 50-year contracts, like the one for Semirara, cannot be renewed and have to rather be subjected to public bidding.

Sharon Garin, the Energy Secretary, said in a statement that “Overall, the government’s priority is to uphold the rule of law while safeguarding our indigenous energy resources. Any future contract or continuation of operations must strictly comply with constitutional limits and demonstrably protect both the national interest and our host communities.“

The pre-determined area – PDA bid round on February 27 is indeed a competitive process wherein the government goes on to offer certain identified resource areas, and qualified parties thereafter participate in the umbrella of a transparent assessment and award mechanism.

It is well to be noted that the three PDAs with their respective coal blocks are –

• Semirara Island is located in Antique, which is the primary area that consists of 10 coal blocks. It, at present, comprises almost 94% of the domestic coal production of the country.
• Isabela, which has five coal blocks spread across the municipalities of Benito Soliven and Naguilian, as well as Cauayan.
• Cagayan, which has in it three coal blocks that are spread throughout the municipalities of Amulung and Iguig.

Apparently, the auction launch on February 27, 2026, is indeed going to be marked as day 1 of the bidding program, with interested applicants given a time frame of 60 calendar days in order to submit their application documents.

The deadline pertaining to the submission is 11:00 a.m. on the 60th day, which will then be followed by the opening of applications at 1:00 p.m. on the very same day.

In addition to this, a pre-submission conference is going to take place 20 days after launch in order to address the inquiries from bidders and also clarify requirements.

It is well to be noted that the coal operations remain subject to strong governance and safety as well as environmental standards as part of the energy transition pathway of the country, said DOE, adding that it consistently reviews and enhances the related regulatory frameworks in order to sync with the evolving energy security, along with priorities that are environmental and economic in nature.

These include ensuring mine safety along with the environmental benchmarks; institutionalizing the progressive rehabilitation along with coal mine decommissioning needs; and also making the compliance obligations in terms of geotechnical tracking, slope stability evaluations, occupational health as well as safety protocols, environmental safeguarding, and reporting more robust.

Ever since October 2020, the DOE in the Philippines has maintained a moratorium pertaining to endorsements for greenfield or new coal-fired power projects in order to transition the energy mix towards renewables.

The fact is that it has shifted from being voluntary to mandatory coal retirement planning. Interestingly, all the coal-fired power plants should have a time-bound shifting plan in order to retire or even convert to clean fuel alternatives not after December 31, 2060.

It is worth noting that the recent advisories enable new coal capacity under the umbrella of exceptional circumstances like power shortages that are imminent, off-grid projects, or even own-use facilities so as to process minerals that are important for energy transition.

Notably, DOE of the Philippines is studying socioeconomic effects pertaining to closing all coal mines and plants in order to make sure of a fair transition for affected workers and, along with them, the communities too.

The partnership looks to deliver smart, safe as well as sustainable solutions for the mining sector, making utmost use of the advanced battery expertise of CATL and capabilities in autonomous systems of EACON.

It apparently looks forward to addressing the key mining issues, like reducing the environmental effect, elevating the safety, and also enhancing the operational efficiency.

It is well to be noted that CATL and EACON are planning to scale the electric autonomous haulage solutions throughout the mining sites across the world.

A major objective of this alliance is to create battery technology that is suited to extreme mining conditions and to also deliver the scalable autonomous haulage systems in terms of open-pit mining operations.

CATL and EACON look to build on the successful trials conducted across China, thereby expanding their reach across the world and also setting new benchmarks when it comes to mining practices that are both sustainable as well as intelligent.

The partnership also extends all the way through to capital, technology, and market, as well as ecosystem development, therefore aiming to accelerate the transition by the mining industry towards green as well as automated operations.

The CEO of EACON Mining Technology, Wason Lan, went on to say that this partnership goes on to represent quite a prominent step forward when it comes to the mining sector. He added that through combining their autonomous driving expertise along with leadership in energy solutions of CATL, they are indeed coming up with a smarter and greener future when it comes to mining haulage.

Apparently, EACON Mining Technology goes on to operate the one of the most-used autonomous haulage systems in the world.

Notably, it has gone on to automate over 2,000 trucks and also supports 25 projects that span commodities like iron ore, coal, copper, and gold, as well as zinc.

In August 2025, CATL went ahead and announced the suspension of its operations at one of the lithium mines based in Jiangxi province of China because of an expired license.

Actions taken by the Energy and Interior departments, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), happen to follow the executive orders that have been issued by Trump in April 2025 so as to revive coal, which, although is dependable, but a polluting source of energy that has for long been shrinking due to a certain set of environmental regulations along with competition from the cheaper natural gas.

It is well to be noted that the environmental groups have gone on to denounce the actions, which occur as the Trump administration has clamped down on renewable energy, which includes freezing permits when it comes to offshore wind projects, ending the tax credits pertaining to clean energy, and also blocking solar projects as far as federal lands are concerned.

As per the order from Trump, the Energy Department needs fossil-fueled power plants across Michigan and Pennsylvania in order to keep operating beyond their retirement dates and therefore meet the growing power demand in the U.S. amid the progress in data centers, AI, and electric vehicles.

Apparently, the latest announcement is indeed going to enable those efforts to expand as a precaution against certain possible shortfalls in electricity. Trump has also gone on to direct the federal agencies to identify coal resources that are there on federal lands, lift barriers when it comes to coal mining, and, at the same time, prioritize coal leasing throughout the U.S. lands.

Interestingly, a sweeping tax bill, which has been approved by the Republicans and stamped by Trump, goes on to decrease the royalty rates when it comes to coal mining to 7% from 12.5%, which is indeed a significant dip, which officials said is going to help in ensuring that the U.S. coal producers can compete on the global stage.

Apparently, the new law also mandates growing availability for coal mining on the federal lands and streamlines the federal reviews as far as coal leases are concerned.

According to Doug Burgum, the Interior Secretary at a conference event, everybody likes to say – drill, baby, drill and he knows that President Trump has another initiative for them, which is to go ahead and mine. Lee Zardin, the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, and Wells Griffith, the Energy Undersecretary, also spoke at the same event, with the three agencies signing orders to boost coal.

Through decreasing the royalty rate for coal, raising the coal acres available in terms of leasing, and unlocking the critical minerals coming from mine waste, they are indeed strengthening their economy and safeguarding the national security and at the same time also making sure that communities right from Montana to Alabama take advantage of good-paying jobs, said Burgum.

Apparently, Zeldin went on to call coal an energy source that’s dependable and that has supported the American communities as well as economic growth for generations.

He added that the Americans happen to be suffering due to the fact that the past administration attempted to apply heavy-handed regulations to coal as well as other forms of energy that they regarded to be unfavorable.

Clamping down on renewable energy

On the other hand, the environmental groups opined that Trump was wasting federal tax dollars by handing them to the owners of the oldest as well as the most expensive and dirtiest sources of electricity.

According to Ted Kelly, clean energy director from the Environmental Defense Fund, subsidizing coal goes on to mean propping up dirty as well as uncompetitive plants from the last century and hence saddling families because of their high costs as well as pollution. They indeed need modern as well as affordable clean energy solutions in order to power a modern economy; however, the Trump administration wants people to drag back to a 1950s electric grid.

Solar and wind, as well as battery storage, happen to be the cheapest and fastest ways to bring new power to the grid, Kelly, along with other advocates, said. Therefore, it makes no sense to cut off the best and the most affordable options while, at the same time, doubling down on the most expensive ones.

EPA makes the pollution rules seamless

On September 29, 2025, the EPA said that it is going to delay seven deadlines that are related to wastewater pollution coming from coal-fired power plants. The industry has already gone on to complain that the regulations that were imposed under former President Biden were costly and were designed to speed up the closure of coal plants.

Coal ash, which is waste from burning coal, can leach into the groundwater and could spread toxins. The Biden administration opined that the rules were aimed at keeping the arsenic and lead out of the well water, hence lowering cancer rates, and at the same time also avoiding disastrous spills.

According to the Beyond Coal Campaign from the Sierra Club, Laurie Williams, Donald Trump, and Lee Zeldin are giving a free hand to the big polluters to dump tons and tons of toxic pollution into the waterways, with no care as to how many Americans are going to suffer from drinking contaminated water or by way of eating contaminated food.

The EPA also went on to say that it will open a 60-day public comment period when it comes to potential changes to a regional haze rule, which has gone on to help reduce the pollution-fueled haze that happens to be hanging over the national parks, wilderness areas, and tribal reservations.

Zeldin had announced in March 2025 that the haze rule could very well be among dozens of landmark environmental regulations that he plans to either eliminate or roll back, including the 2009 finding in which climate change harms human health along with the environment.

The president and CEO of America’s Power, an industry group, Michelle Bloodworth remarked that the EPA rule changes, along with other administration actions, could very well help to safeguard the electric reliability of America and also preserve its fleet when it comes to coal-fired power plants.

Coal production has dropped significantly

Burgum, who also happens to chair the National Energy Dominance Council from Trump, opined that the actions that were announced on September 29, 2025, in addition to the tax law as well as the previous presidential and secretarial orders, will make sure of abundant and affordable energy while at the same time decreasing dependence on foreign sources of coal as well as minerals.

The Republican president has for long promised to boost what he calls beautiful coal in order to fire power plants and for certain other uses as well, but the industry has indeed been facing a dip for decades.

It is well to be noted that coal once provided more than 50% of U.S. electricity production; however, its share has dropped to almost 15% in 2024, which apparently has dropped from almost 45% as recently as 2010.

Apparently, natural gas offers almost 43% of U.S. electricity, with the remainder coming from nuclear energy as well as renewables like wind, solar, and hydropower.

According to the energy experts, any sort of bump for coal under Trump is going to be temporary since natural gas happens to be cheaper, and there is indeed a durable market as far as renewable energies like wind and solar power are concerned, no matter who has the reins of the White House.