FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Navajo Nation is moving closer to getting into the coal-mining business.
Tribal lawmakers voted Monday to form a limited liability company that would run the Navajo Mine near Farmington. The tribe said it will decide by July 1 whether to buy the mine from Australia-based BHP Billiton for about $85 million.
Navajo President Ben Shelly also must sign off on the creation of the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. LLC. Lawmakers said it would be part of a transition to renewable-energy production in the future, though critics of the mine purchase don’t believe that.
The Navajo Nation signaled its intent in December to take over the mine that produces between 6.5 million and 8.5 million tons of coal each year, feeding the Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico. The plant’s operator, Arizona Public Service Co., has said the production level will decrease when three of the units are shut down and it acquires majority ownership of the other two units.
The vote by tribal lawmakers was an “important and positive step in ensuring a long-term future for the plant,” said Damon Gross, a spokesman for APS, which is owned by Pinnacle West Capital Corp. “We appreciate the Navajo Nation’s careful consideration of this matter, and we’re optimistic the plant will continue to support the Navajo Nation and the surrounding area with high-quality jobs that are economic drivers for the region.”
The Navajo Nation owns and operates about a dozen businesses on the reservation, including a utility company, a transit system, a housing authority, radio stations, a natural-gas and oil company, and shopping centers.
Lori Goodman, of the environmental advocacy group Diné CARE, doesn’t want to see a coal-mining company added to the list. She said she doesn’t believe the Navajo Nation is serious about investing in renewable energy and the tribe should await the results of a federal study on the environmental impacts of the power plant and the mine before making any further decisions.
