"BILLINGS, Mont. -- A mining company plans to start exploratory work this spring on an estimated 400 million tons of coal beneath Montana's Crow Indian Reservation, adding to a spate of recent interest in the region's huge coal reserves despite flagging domestic demand for the fuel."

"Signal Peak Energy is eying a future mine on private property within the reservation's boundaries known as the Hope Ranch.

The exploration area covers more than 7,000 acres and is just a few miles from the neighboring Northern Cheyenne Reservation, according to an analysis of the project by federal officials. The site is about 30 miles north of the Wyoming border.

Signal Peak operates the Bull Mountain mine north of Billings and exports much of its coal to customers in Asia."

Matthew Brown reports for the Associated Press March 17, 2013. [2]