Reopening of Blackjewel mines possibly delayed over permit snag

A protracted fight to return two Powder River Basin coal mines to full operation, after its owner Blackjewel filed for bankruptcy, hit another snag in court Wednesday.

The required transfer of mining permits and associated cleanup liabilities to the new owner, Eagle Specialty Materials, could delay the official closing of the sale by at least three weeks, according to court proceedings that concluded Wednesday morning.

Eagle Specialty Materials, an affiliate of Alabama-based company FM Coal, must have sufficient reclamation, or cleanup, bonding in place before taking over the mines. But Lexon Insurance Company, a surety company for FM Coal, announced that the new operator needed to take care of Blackjewel’s additional 135 mine permits out east before it could extend additional bonds to the Wyoming coal mines.

“Our intention is to just close (the sale) as soon as possible; I know internally we had discussed closing as soon as today and that was the plan over the weekend,” said Travis McRoberts, an attorney for Blackjewel. “... Until (there is replacement bonding), it can’t close. Everyone is working as fast as possible to get that done. But unfortunately I don’t know if that will occur today at this point.”

Read more: https://trib.com/business/energy/reopening-of-blackjewel-mines-possibly-delayed-over-permit-snag/article_9b986204-f041-51e3-adb3-77a89558dad9.html
(Casper Star Tribune)