Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says Arch Coal to begin huge strip mining operation in Montana to feed Asia’s demand for coal.

Montana has leased 572 million tons of coal for strip mining at Otter Creek, Montana to Arch Coal.  St. Louis-based Arch Coal is the nation’s second largest coal producer. The proposed Otter Creek mine will be one of the largest strip mines in North America.  The coal lease will give Arch the right to mine approximately 8,300 acres of state-owned minerals.  Arch now controls approximately 1.5 billion tons of coal in Montana’s Otter Creek area, including previous reserve additions such as the coal lease secured in November 2009 through Great Northern Properties Limited.

Arch Coal says that Otter Creek coal would be mined to serve the growing demand in Asian countries.

See, Kentucky is not the only state in the country where large corporations take the local minerals for use in other locations.  Something just does not smell right here or am I being too pro-American about keeping American coal here in the USA?