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Freedom Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Beulah, Mercer County, North Dakota, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Freedom Coal Mine | Beulah, Mercer County, North Dakota, United States[1][2] | 47.4139, -101.7391 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 1983[2] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 10.8[2] | 2024[2] | Surface[2] | – | 36.4 | 50.0 | 468[3] |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 257.0[4] | 2021[4] | 331.0[4] | Fort Union Region | Lignite[2] | Thermal[2] | Antelope Valley Station[2] |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| The Coteau Properties Co [100%][1][2] | Nacco Industries Inc [100.0%] | USA |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM[5] | 14.7[6] | 14.2[6] | 13.5[7] | 12.6[7] | 12.5[5] | 13.4[5] | 10.34[5] |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2025 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The Freedom Mine is a coal mine, operated by Coteau Properties Company, owned by North American Coal, producing 14.1 million short tons per annum, in Beulah, North Dakota, United States. The Freedom Mine is operated by the Coteau Properties Company (a subsidiary of The North American Coal Corporation, Dallas, TX), Beulah, North Dakota. The mine supplies lignite to the Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Antelope Valley Station and Leland Olds Station.[8]
Freedom mine is the largest lignite mine in the United States, operating two 120-cubic-yard draglines and a fleet of 200-ton overburden trucks.[9]
Expansion
On September 3, 2025, as part of the US government's efforts to revitalize the US coal industry, the Coteau Properties Company, which operates the Freedom mine, won a federal coal lease bid to mine 18.3 million tons of federal coal across nearly 1,100 acres.[10] (The awarded land tracts are located adjacent to or within the current Freedom mining operation.)[11]
Won with a bid of $106,000, this federal coal lease is expected to generate annual rental fees of $3 per acre, and a 7% royalty payment on coal produced. Royalties paid will be shared evenly between the State of North Dakota and the U.S. Treasury.[10]
This additional acreage is included in the 13.1 million acres of public lands reopened to coal mining by the Trump administration in September 2025.[12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240717193400/https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/mine-data-retrieval-system. Archived from the original on 17 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000789933/000078993325000006/nacco-20241231.htm.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240213175031/https://www.msha.gov/data-and-reports/statistics/mine-employment-and-coal-production. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240216224545/https://miningdataonline.com/property/708/Freedom-Mine.aspx. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 (PDF) https://filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_nacco/343/NC_2023_10K-PRINTER_PROOF_LR.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 (PDF) https://filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_nacco/243/NC-2018-10K.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 (PDF) https://filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_nacco/245/NC-2020-10K.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ North Dakota’s Freedom Mine: The largest lignite mine in the United States, Lignite Energy Council, 31 July 2017.
- ↑ Lignite Energy Council, " The Coteau Properties Company's Freedom Mine", Lignite Energy Council website, accessed May 2009.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "BLM coal lease sale at Freedom Mine nets US$106 292", World Coal, 11 September 2025.
- ↑ US Federal Register, "Lease for Sale Coteau Properties Company, Freedom Mine Lease-by-Application NDM 111186, Mercer County, ND", Federal Register website, Accessed September 2025.
- ↑ "Interior Unleashes American Coal Power in Bold Move to Advance Trump Administration Priorities", US Department of the Interior, 29 September 2025.
External links
- "Major U.S. Coal Mines," Energy Information Administration
- "Freedom Mine," North American Coal
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
