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CHEYENNE, Wyo.—The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is clarifying the estimated value of millions of tons of Wyoming coal it intends to sell.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that the BLM will auction off 758 million tons of coal in the Powder River Basin this year. Salazar said the coal is worth between $13.4 billion and $21.3 billion after all taxes and royalties are paid.
On Friday, the BLM said that estimate includes another 1.6 billion tons of coal to be sold at a future date.
The Casper Star-Tribune reports Salazar’s figure caught the attention of Marion Loomis, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association. Loomis says the upcoming coal sales will nonetheless bring in billions for the state.
