The Signal Peak Mine in the Bull Mountains near Roundup has new life.
The mine, which was under the threat of closure, will now stay open for at least nine more years because of a provision in the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," President Trump's massive spending package approved by Congress this spring.
Watch Sen. Daines' visit to Signal Peak Mine:
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced a provision into the bill allowing the expansion of the mine. He spoke with miners and toured the mine on Thursday.
“As important as these jobs are, it's also important we fight for coal,” said Daines.
Daines says the passage of the federal spending bill was step one and step two is passing his proposed bill, the Crow Revenue Act.
“We need this Crow Revenue Act,” Daines said. “That will be a swap in terms of subsurface rights between the Crow Tribe and the Bull Mountains. That provides certainty that goes into the next generation. Make sure we can keep moving forward with mining this coal. Coal is a source of reliable, affordable baseload power.”
“(Daines) and President Trump have worked together to lower federal royalty rates,” said Parker Phipps, Signal Peak Energy president and CEO. “This helps keep coal mining competitive with other energy sources, and it also ends federal subsidies that are putting fossil fuels at a significant disadvantage.”
Signal Peak had sought to expand the mine for years, but previous attempts were halted in the federal courts. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled the company failed to adequately measure how much carbon would be emitted into the atmosphere with the expansion, according to the Montana Free Press.
Daines said Thursday that the mine in the Bull Mountains boosts energy generation nationwide.
“One of our big constraints going forward to think about what's needed for the next generation economy is more energy,” Daines said. “We have an energy resource deficit. We need more energy and coal here in Montana is one way we can help close that gap.”
“People are losing sleep and they didn’t know where they were going to go next,” said Byron Kinn, Signal Peak manager of surface operations. “They got good jobs right now and before that we didn't know if we'd have a job next year or not. You know, everybody. So it's huge.”
This is a big deal for the mine and the miners and people in Roundup say Signal Peak staying open is big for the economy as well.
“The longevity, the mine is the economic driver for all of our county,” said Roundup Mayor Sandra Jones. “It's about two-thirds of the tax base for Musselshell County.”
Jones says the citizens need the business from miners.
“I see it's boosted the economy here quite a bit because it was kind of going south there for awhile,” said Marty Davis, who rode his Harley Davidson motorcycle from Billings to Roundup.
“A lot of revenue,” said Bruce Pelzel, who also rode to Roundup. “Besides it powers power plants and everything else.”
It's not just the miners, but the company, Signal Peak Energy also helps the community.
“If you go over to that rest area, you'll see the sign and you know there's different things that they've donated,” said Carole McInnis, a Roundup resident.
“They've done several special projects for the town with money that they make off the coal,” said Mickey Benzel, a Roudup resident. “So, I'm glad it's staying open and I'm glad they get to expand.”
While coal has its opponents, Daines says the coal industry benefits Montana and the whole country, economically and with security.
“Energy security is national security,” Daines said. “And the Chinese have got that figured out. We've got to make sure that we continue to have more made in America energy and reduce dependencies on foreign sources of energy."
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