Coal company says Montana's minimum bid for state leases too high

The head of the company that owns more than half the coal in southeastern Montana's Otter Creek Valley said this week he'll be surprised if anyone bids on state-owned coal there, because the Land Board probably set the minimum price too high.

Great Northern owns 730 million tons of coal in the Otter Creek Valley, about 150 miles east of Billings, and its coal is interspersed with 572 million tons of coal owned by the state.

On Dec. 21, the state Land Board decided to put the state coal up for bid to potential developers and set the minimum bonus bid at 25 cents a ton, or $143 million.  Read the full story from The Missoulian.