The assessment also identified 4.2 billion short tons of reported coal reserves associated with active mines beneath federal lands. Wyoming accounts for 87% of those reported reserves, making it the leading state in the assessment.

The figures provide a new federal estimate of the coal beneath public lands as the administration weighs the role of coal in the nation’s energy supply and the future of federal coal development.

What the assessment found

The assessment separates reported reserves associated with active mines from broader coal resources considered potentially available for development. The 4.2 billion short tons tied to active mines are reported reserves. The 356 billion short tons identified across the lower 48 states are a much larger estimate of available resources.

Interior said the lower-48 resource estimate would equal at least 600 years of national coal consumption at the current rate if all of that coal were produced. That comparison describes the scale of the estimate; it is not a projection that the coal will be mined or burned over that period.

The assessment also found at least 140 billion short tons of coal resources in Alaska. Together, the lower-48 and Alaska figures show the geographic breadth of the federal land inventory, while the active-mine reserve figure reflects the smaller amount associated with existing production.

Wyoming’s central role

Wyoming contains 87% of the reported reserves associated with active mines under federal lands, according to the assessment. The North Antelope Rochelle Mine in the state’s Powder River Basin was identified as the largest-producing federal-land coal mine and as holding the largest reported reserves.

The mine’s position illustrates the concentration of current federal-land coal reserves in Wyoming, even though the broader resource estimates extend across the lower 48 states and Alaska.

The assessment does not establish that every identified resource is economically recoverable. Resource estimates can include coal that may face technical, economic, legal or other barriers before it could be produced. The reported figures therefore should not be treated as a guarantee of future mining.

What happens next

Interior’s release announced the assessment but did not announce a specific new federal coal lease sale or mine approval. The data could nevertheless influence debates over federal coal leasing, energy supply and the environmental consequences of developing resources on public lands.

For energy policymakers, the assessment offers a broad measure of the coal potentially available beneath federally managed land. For communities and others concerned about public-land development, the distinction between a large resource estimate and coal that can actually be mined is central to interpreting the numbers.

The assessment’s 600-year comparison also depends on the condition that the estimated lower-48 resources would all be produced. That condition matters because the release presents potential resources, not a commitment to develop them.

The release provides updated federal data for debates over coal mining, energy policy, public-land leasing and the environmental consequences of additional production. It does not, by itself, authorize mining, approve new mines or decide whether federal production will expand.

What the assessment says

The assessment separates reported reserves associated with active mines from the much larger estimate of available coal resources. Interior said the 4.2 billion short tons of reported reserves are tied to mines that are currently active, while the additional 356 billion short tons represent available resources identified beneath federal lands.

Those figures should not be read as a forecast of how much coal will be mined. Interior’s release does not establish how much of the estimated resource is economically recoverable or likely to be extracted. It also does not quantify projected greenhouse-gas emissions, water impacts or the assessment’s effect on future federal leasing.

Wyoming accounts for 87% of the reported reserves associated with active mines under federal lands, according to Interior. The state’s concentration of those reserves makes it the central location identified in the department’s summary, although the assessment covers federally managed public lands across the country.

Mine identified as the largest producer

The department identified the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin as the largest-producing federal-land coal mine. Interior also said the mine holds the largest reported reserves among the federal-land mines covered by the assessment.

The report was released by the Interior Department and prepared through the U.S. Geological Survey. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and the Bureau of Land Management are among the federal entities connected to the department’s public-lands and resource-management responsibilities, but the approved release does not say that either agency has approved a new mining action as a result of this assessment.

Why the numbers matter

Coal resources beneath federal lands can become part of policy discussions about domestic energy supply, mining, public-land management and the future of federal leasing. The newly published figures give policymakers an updated government estimate of the potential resource base, while leaving separate questions about economics, permitting, environmental review and market demand unresolved.

For communities and workers connected to coal production, the assessment may be relevant to arguments about the long-term availability of federal coal. For people concerned about climate, water and land impacts, the report’s limits are equally important: the release does not calculate those effects or promise that the listed resources will be developed.

Interior announced a separate public-land policy change on Feb. 23, saying it had rescinded more than 80% of its prior National Environmental Policy Act regulations and moved most procedures into a departmental handbook. That announcement provides policy background for the department’s 2026 approach to public-land permitting and NEPA procedures, but the coal assessment itself does not state that it changes existing environmental-review or leasing requirements.

What happens next

The July 23 release is an assessment of coal resources and reserves, not a mining permit or lease decision. The approved department materials identify no new mine approval, expanded-production order or specific leasing deadline connected to the report.

Any future development would therefore involve decisions beyond the resource estimate. The assessment supplies information for those discussions, but it does not determine whether a particular resource can be mined, whether a lease will be offered or how environmental impacts would be evaluated.

Interior’s news index continued to list the assessment as a July 2026 department release on July 25. For now, the central development is the federal government’s updated accounting of coal beneath public lands—and the distinction between identifying a resource and authorizing its extraction.

The assessment also identifies at least 140 billion tons of coal resources in Alaska. Interior said the inventory could inform the management of public lands and national energy policy as the administration emphasizes domestic energy production.

What the assessment measures

The report covers coal reserves and resources beneath federally managed public lands across the United States. Its figures describe the estimated scale of the resource base; they do not represent a forecast that the coal will be mined or produced.

The 4.2-billion-short-ton figure applies to reported reserves associated with active mines on federal lands. A reserve estimate is distinct from the broader resource estimates in the assessment. The report’s additional estimate of 356 billion short tons covers available coal resources in the lower 48 states, while Alaska has at least 140 billion tons of identified coal resources.

Interior said that, if the resource base were produced, it would represent at least 600 years of current national coal consumption. That comparison describes the potential scale of the inventory, not a timetable for extraction or a prediction about future demand.

Wyoming accounts for most reported active-mine reserves

Wyoming contains 87% of the reported reserves associated with active mines on federal lands, according to the assessment. The North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming is identified as the largest-producing federal-land coal mine and as having the nation’s largest reported reserves.

The geographic concentration of reported reserves gives Wyoming a central place in the federal inventory. The additional resource estimates extend beyond the state, including the large amount identified in Alaska and the resources reported across the lower 48 states.

What it means for public-land policy

The release provides the federal government with a new resource inventory at a time when officials are weighing domestic energy production, energy security and how public lands should be managed. The information could be used in future discussions about mining and federal energy policy.

But the assessment itself does not approve new mines, authorize extraction of the full estimated resource base or determine whether mining would be environmentally feasible. The figures should not be read as saying that all identified coal resources are economically recoverable reserves.

That distinction matters for communities, companies and public-land users. An estimate of resources identifies coal that may be present or available for additional evaluation; it does not by itself establish that a project can proceed, that mining would be profitable or that environmental requirements have been met.

What happens next

Interior said the assessment could inform future management of public lands and energy policy. The approved announcement does not identify a specific mine approval, new leasing decision, production target or deadline that follows from the report.

For now, the July 23 release is a national accounting of estimated coal reserves and resources beneath federal lands. Any future decision to develop those resources would be separate from the assessment and would require actions not included in the report.

Those numbers describe coal underground, not coal that is already permitted, financed or ready for production. The inventory is a scientific assessment, not a lease sale, mine permit, production forecast or authorization to extract the fuel.

What the report counted

The 34 active federal-land mines produced more than 261 million short tons in 2024, according to the USGS report. A short ton equals 2,000 pounds. Surface mining is used at 23 of the mines, while 11 use underground methods.

The mines are concentrated in the West. Thirty-one of the 34 are west of the Mississippi River, and those mines account for more than 98 percent of the reported reserves. Wyoming has 14 federal-land mines and produces more coal from federal lands than any other state.

The Powder River Basin, which spans parts of northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana, has 14 federal-land mines identified by USGS: 12 in Wyoming and two in Montana. Interior says Wyoming mines contain 87 percent of the reported reserves associated with active federal-land mines.

Most of the mines produce thermal coal for electricity. Three Alabama mines produce metallurgical coal used in steelmaking, one Colorado mine produces coal for cement, and one Utah mine is idled.

Reserves and resources are not the same

Reported reserves are tied to active mines and represent coal identified in connection with current mining operations. Available coal resources are a broader geological category. They describe coal identified as present and potentially available beneath federal lands, but they do not guarantee that it can be mined profitably or without significant technical, legal or environmental limits.

That distinction matters because the 355-billion-ton figure should not be described as the amount of coal the United States can immediately mine. Economic conditions, transportation, mine design, permitting, environmental review, market demand and reclamation requirements would all affect whether particular deposits could be developed.

USGS separately estimates at least 140 billion short tons of identified available coal resources beneath federal lands in Alaska. The report says Alaska’s total coal resources could ultimately be as high as 5.5 trillion short tons, but it cautions that additional geological mapping is needed. The 5.5-trillion-ton figure is a possible upper estimate for total resources, not the identified available-resource amount.

Why the inventory matters now

The report arrives as the Trump administration pursues a broader effort to expand coal production from public lands. The Associated Press reported that federal officials are considering new coal leases covering more than 2,600 square miles of federal land in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming.

That leasing effort remains preliminary. A Bureau of Land Management spokesperson told AP that the proposal could change after public comment, and the agency has not said how much interest mining companies have or how quickly any new mines could open.

The Interior Department said the resources could supply national needs for at least 600 years if produced at the current rate of consumption. That is agency framing based on current use, not a forecast that the coal will be mined or that national electricity demand will remain unchanged.

What the report does not do

The inventory does not authorize mining, reopen leasing, determine economic viability, settle environmental questions or establish future production. Individual projects would still require federal leasing decisions, public participation, environmental review, permits, market commitments and reclamation plans.

What to watch next

The practical checkpoints are federal leasing notices, public-comment periods, environmental reviews, mine applications, evidence of buyer interest and reclamation requirements. Those steps will determine whether any of the identified coal moves from a geological estimate toward an operating mine.

For now, the USGS report establishes a new federal baseline for the size and location of coal resources beneath public lands. It does not show that the deposits are economical, that companies will seek them or that new mining will occur.

Sources

• U.S. Geological Survey coal inventory
• USGS Circular 1570
• U.S. Department of the Interior release
• Associated Press leasing report