GILLETTE, Wyo. – When Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren toured the Cordero Rojo Mine site, an antelope calmly hopped along the mine’s reclaimed land – its home.
On July 15, President Nygren, along with Navajo Transitional Energy Company’s (NTEC) CEO, Vern Lund, Cordero Mine Site Manager, Kyle Colby, and other NTEC officials, toured the active mine operations on the west side of the 23,000-acre mine.
President Nygren also saw and experienced the extensive reclamation accomplishments at the Cordero Rojo Mine.
Colby said many people do not understand that coal is a natural resource, and there are federal and state laws and regulations that require surface coal mines to reclaim the lands during the post-coal mining operations.
Similarly, NTEC has been awarded and recognized for its reclamation efforts at all four of its coal mine sites.
“The reclamation process is key to how NTEC continues its operations,” said President Nygren. “NTEC is a huge Navajo partnership, and it’s because they understand the values of who we are as Navajo people, which is protecting the land not just for us now but for our future. It’s a blessing to see wildlife on the reclaimed areas because it proves this is a success.”
On the reclaimed mine areas, there was not only growing Native plants, but also built “rabbitats,” which Colby explained as being a refuge for small animals to hide from predators. Through this partnership, NTEC has built nests for two golden eagles who frequent the site.
However, the mine site is not just making strides in their reclamation efforts to properly restore the land; they continue to keep their employees safe as one of the leading coal producers in the United States.
The Cordero Rojo Mine in Wyoming produces an average of about 12 million tons of coal each year, with 234 full-time employees. The coal extracted from the Cordero Rojo Mine gets shipped out by United Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains to locations along the U.S. and Canadian border, as well as designated locations overseas.
‘What we want people to understand (is) that it’s (coal mining) a necessity for electrical generation,” said Colby. “The other thing is that the reclamation is top-notch. We don’t leave it poorly when we’re done because we’re all outdoor people, so we want it back to where it was or better–people forget that.”
