Wyoming coal company wins federal money to extract critical minerals from Powder River Basin – WyoFile

Coal mining giant Peabody Energy, with massive operations in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, is among five entities that will share a total of $75 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance production of rare-earth elements and critical minerals.

As of press time, it wasn’t clear exactly how much Peabody might receive from the department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, but it will be added to the $6.25 million in taxpayer money granted to the company earlier this year via Wyoming’s Energy Matching Funds program for the same project.

Peabody plans to build a pilot processing facility at its Rawhide mine just north of Gillette to extract rare earth and critical minerals from coal, according to a Peabody document submitted to the state. It would produce “market-ready mixed rare-earth concentrate,” which can be further refined to produce oxides and metals used in modern technology. Once complete, the facility would support 55 new jobs, Peabody says.

“Coupled with the Wyoming Energy Authority grant awarded earlier this year, this [DOE grant] selection reflects the meaningful progress Peabody has made in advancing promising unconventional rare earth and critical mineral opportunities,” Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Grech said in a prepared statement this week.

The DOE’s support of Peabody’s effort in Wyoming demonstrates the value of Wyoming coal beyond burning it to generate electricity, Wyoming Mining Association Executive Director Travis Deti said.

“Whether it be energy or the domestic supply chain for needed critical minerals and rare earths, Wyoming coal will be needed for the foreseeable future,” Deti told WyoFile. “Of course this all translates into jobs and revenue.”

St. Louis-based Peabody Energy, with a market value of $2.8 billion, is the largest coal producer in Wyoming and the nation. It owns and operates the Rawhide, North Antelope Rochelle and Caballo coal mines in northeastern Wyoming. Rawhide shipped 7.8 million tons of coal in 2025, according to federal data, while Caballo produced nearly 11.7 million tons and North Antelope scooped nearly 65 million tons. 

Peabody reorganized after filing for bankruptcy and laying off 235 Wyoming miners in 2016. Today, the company employs about 1,480 coal miners in Wyoming.

Push for rare earth, critical minerals

Rare-earth elements and critical minerals occur all over the world, typically in minute quantities. The metals are increasingly in demand as building blocks for everything from magnets to batteries in devices like cell phones and MRI machines. They’re also frequently used in military equipment.

The U.S. has lagged behind China in producing and refining the metals, giving China an economic advantage in the rocky relationship between the two nations. The U.S., and the Trump administration in particular, has pushed a rare-earth and critical minerals supply chain buildout toward the top of its mining and manufacturing priorities.

Last year, President Donald Trump issued the Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production executive order while invoking the Defense Production Act to fast-track permitting and help finance mining and processing efforts.

With increasing government and private-sector interest, Rare Element Resources recently built a rare-earth demonstration processing plant near Upton. Others are pursuing new mining operations in the Laramie Range and southern Bighorn Mountains. Those are all traditional, hardrock resources. As for Wyoming coal, researchers have known for years that it contains rare-earth and critical minerals, but it’s only a relatively new focus.

Although Ramaco Resources, for years, has said it is reactivating its Brook coal mine near Sheridan to extract critical minerals, Peabody Energy’s entrance into the market brings another level of corporate prowess to the prospect of putting Wyoming on the world map. And the Trump administration’s focus on coal for the metals dovetails with other priorities.

“Today’s announcement advances the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the U.S. coal sector,” the Department of Energy said. It “reflects a broader commitment to unlock the value of coal and coal-based feedstocks as domestic sources of critical minerals and materials.”

Gov. Mark Gordon agrees.

“I was happy to support a $6.25 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority’s Energy Matching Fund earlier this year to build a pilot processing facility at the Rawhide mine near Gillette,” he told WyoFile this week. “If we are going to get back in the game of supplying our nation’s need for rare-earth elements and critical minerals, we need to look at all sources, including those in and around coal seams. The federal contribution is a great addition to this effort.”

Meantime, Wyoming is investing significant taxpayer money beyond the $6.25 million already granted to Peabody.

Visionary Metals Corp recently received a $250,000 Energy Matching Funds grant for a nickel-and-copper project in the Granite Mountains. Also this year, the Legislature created the Wyoming Rare Earths Fund with $16 million “for commercial deployment projects focused on the processing and separation of rare-earth resources located in Wyoming.”