FREEDOM MINE

Federal coal leases fast-tracked in North Dakota; environmental groups object

The Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota, provides coal to plants operated by Basin Electric Power Cooperative. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)FARGO, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor/KVRR) — Companies seeking to mine coal on federal land in North Dakota are gaining traction under Trump administration policies, with some environmental groups saying changes to the lease process skirt the law. The…

Coal miners in North Dakota unearth a mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years

North Dakota Geologic Survey Paleontologist Jeff Person sits behind a 7-foot mammoth tusk on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, at the Geologic Survey office in Bismarck, N.D. Coal miners unearthed the tusk in May 2023 at the Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota. Paleontologists subsequently discovered other mammoth bones at the site. The tusk and other bones are wrapped in plastic…