Utah coal bid rejected amid faltering sales | JQJO

Federal officials rejected the lone bid for more than 6 million tons of coal under Utah’s Manti-La Sal National Forest, the third Western public-lands coal sale to collapse this month. The Interior Department said the offer, covering two tracts near the Skyline Mine and requested by a Wolverine Fuels subsidiary, failed to meet the Mineral Leasing Act’s fair‑market‑value standard. Similar setbacks include a Montana sale later nixed after a $186,000 bid and a postponed Wyoming auction. An Interior spokesperson echoed the Trump administration’s claim that Democratic policies hurt sales; analysts point to market forces, and environmentalists cheered the rejection.