Navajo Nation Says It Won’t Be Used in Cloud Peak Coal Takeover

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez on Nov. 12 canceled an agreement that its representative wanted to use to take over bankrupt Cloud Peak Energy’s coal mines.

Nez’s action raises questions about whether regulators in Montana and Wyoming, where the three mines are located, will approve the transfer of Cloud Peak’s mine permits to the Navajo Transitional Energy Company.

NTEC, a stand-alone business authorized by the Navajo Nation to negotiate on its behalf, must now prove to regulators that it can either cover the $400 million cleanup bonds on its own, or convince a surety company to take on the burden ...