Arch bids $86M for Montana-owned Otter Creek

Arch Coal Inc. has bid $86 million plus future royalties for the right to mine a half-billion tons of state-owned coal in southeastern Montana near the Wyoming border. St. Louis-based Arch already controls 731 million tons of coal in Otter Creek, south of Ashland. Because the public and private coal tracts are arranged in a checkerboard fashion, industry observers say the reserves likely would be mined together. Combined, they contain enough fuel to meet the nation's coal needs for more than a year. Developing a mine could take years and would also require construction of the proposed Tongue R...