Coal mining giant Peabody Energy, with extensive operations in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, is among five companies 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.
It was not clear at press time exactly how much Peabody would receive from the department’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, but it is in addition to the $6.25 million in taxpayer money awarded to the company earlier this year through Wyoming’s Energy Matching Funds program for the same project.
According to a Peabody document submitted to the state, Peabody plans to build a pilot processing plant at its Rawhide mine north of Gillette to extract rare earths and critical minerals from coal. It would produce a “market-ready mixed rare earth concentrate” that can be further refined to produce oxides and metals used in modern technology. When completed, the facility would create 55 new jobs, Peabody said.
“In conjunction with the Wyoming Energy Authority grant awarded earlier this year, this is the case [DOE grant] The selection reflects the significant progress Peabody has made in advancing promising unconventional opportunities for rare earths and critical minerals,” Jim Grech, president and chief executive officer of Peabody, said in a prepared statement this week.
Geologist Jacob Carnes examines a rock formation as part of a survey for potential rare earth elements. (Wyoming State Geological Survey)
The Department of Energy’s support for Peabody’s efforts in Wyoming shows the value of Wyoming coal beyond burning it to generate electricity, said Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association.
“Whether it’s 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, all of this leads to jobs and income.”
St. Louis-based Peabody Energy is the largest coal producer in Wyoming and the nation, with a market value of $2.8 billion. The Company owns and operates the Rawhide, North Antelope Rochelle and Caballo coal mines in northeastern Wyoming. According to federal data, Rawhide shipped 7.8 million tons of coal in 2025, while Caballo produced nearly 11.7 million tons and North Antelope scooped up nearly 65 million tons.
Peabody reorganized after filing for bankruptcy in 2016 and laying off 235 Wyoming miners. Today the company employs about 1,480 miners in Wyoming.
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Pursue rare earths and critical minerals
Rare earths and critical minerals are found throughout the world, typically in tiny 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 are also commonly used in military equipment.
The U.S. has lagged behind China in producing and refining the metals, giving China an economic advantage in the difficult relationship between the two nations. The US, and particularly the Trump administration, has placed expanding the supply chain for rare earths and critical minerals at the top of its mining and manufacturing priorities.
Governor Mark Gordon, Senator Cynthia Lummis, Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Senator John Barrasso celebrate the opening of the Brook coal and rare earth mine in July. (Office of U.S. Senator John Barrasso)
Last year, President Donald Trump issued the Executive Order “Immediate Action to Increase America’s Mineral Production,” while also invoking the Defense Production Act to expedite permitting and support funding for mining and processing efforts.
Due to increasing government and private sector interest, Rare Element Resources recently built a rare earth processing demonstration plant near Upton. Others are pursuing new mining operations in the Laramie Range and southern Bighorn Mountains. These are all traditional hard rock resources. When it comes to Wyoming coal, researchers have known for years that it contains rare earths and critical minerals, but this is a relatively new focus.
Although Ramaco Resources has said for years that it is reactivating its Brook coal mine near Sheridan to mine critical minerals, Peabody Energy’s entry into the market adds another level of entrepreneurial prowess to the prospect of putting Wyoming on the world map. And the Trump administration’s focus on coal as a metals supplier fits with other priorities.
“Today’s announcement advances the Trump administration’s efforts to strengthen the U.S. coal sector,” the Energy Department said. It “reflects a broader commitment to unlocking the value of coal and coal-based raw materials as domestic sources of critical minerals and materials.”
Gov. Mark Gordon agrees.
President Donald Trump speaks as Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, from left, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin and Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., listen to an event about coal Thursday, June 4, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“Earlier this year, I was pleased to support a $6.25 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority’s Energy Matching Fund to build a pilot processing plant at the Rawhide Mine near Gillette,” he told WyoFile this week. “If we want to restore our nation’s demand for rare earths and critical minerals, we must consider all sources, including those in and around coal seams. The federal contribution is a great complement to these efforts.”
Meanwhile, Wyoming is investing significant taxpayer dollars beyond the $6.25 million already awarded to Peabody.
Visionary Metals Corp recently received a $250,000 Energy Matching Fund grant for a nickel and copper project in the Granite Mountains. Also that year, lawmakers established the Wyoming Rare Earths Fund with $16 million “for commercial deployment projects focused on the processing and separation of rare earth resources in Wyoming.”
https://wyofile.com/wyoming-coal-company-wins-federal-money-to-extract-critical-minerals-from-powder-river-basin/
