WorldWide Drilling Resource

30 JULY 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Cloud Peak Energy Works with Crow Tribe Adapted from Information Provided by Big Metal Coal Cloud Peak Energy is working to develop a large surface coal mining complex in the northern Powder River Basin, centered on its Spring Creek Mine and filled out by the Youngs Creek mining project to the south and Big Metal leases to the west. Cloud Peak Energy acquired Youngs Creek Mining Co., LLC and the CX Ranch lands in 2012. Youngs Creek is a greenfield surface coal mining proj- ect on the state border of Wyoming and Montana. The project has key min- ing permits which could allow produc- t ion by 2015. The CX Ranch lands cover 38,000 acres adjacent to Youngs Creek to the south and Spring Creek Mine to the north. The lands are locat- ed on a substantial deposit of coal on the Crow Indian Reservation to the west. In 2013, Big Metal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cloud Peak Energy Inc., and the Crow Tribe signed an explo- ration agreement and an option-to- lease agreement for up to 1.4 billion tons of in-place coal on the Crow Indian Reservation. These agreements have been approved by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) giving Big Metal the opportunity to explore and define mine- able coal in the southwestern portion of the reservation. The agreements also allow the company the right to lease all or portions of this coal for mining, sub- ject to additional regulatory approvals. Big Metal paid the Crow Tribe $2.25 mi l l ion when the agreements were signed, and paid an additional $1.5 mil- lion upon BIA approval of these agree- ments. Additional annual option payments during the initial option term could bring total option payments to $10 million. These payments are only for the right to enter into leases. Multimillion dollar payments would be made to the Tribe upon exercise of a lease or leas- es, and Big Metal would pay produc- tion taxes and royalties on coal mined and sold. Tax and royalty payments would range from 21-30% of the price paid by Big Metal’s coal customers. Big Metal is committed to being a good corporate citizen on the Crow Reservation. Along with option, exer- cise, royalty, and tax payments, coal mineral leases with the Tribe, once effective, provide for preferential hiring, training, and promotion of Indians and certain preferences for Indian-certified contractors. Big Metal has also agreed to pro- vide annual scholarships totaling $75,000 per year under the option agreement, and $150,000 per year upon the exer- cise and approval of leases. The company, along with the Crow Tribe awarded their first scholarships to students from the Crow Tribe for the 2013-2014 academic year. “I would like to congratulate this year’s scholarship recipients who are demonstrating their commitment to higher education,” said Colin Marshall, president and CEO of Cloud Peak Energy. “I am pleased that the annual scholarships will bring immediate ben- efits to members of the Tribe at the start of what will be a long-term part- nership.” As a long-time advocate of Crow youth, Crow Tribal Chairman, Darrin Old Coyote, was appreciative of the scholarship. He thanked Cloud Peak Energy “for honoring that commitment and helping the future of the Crow Nation.” +0 .5 .&((&*$ -1&,)"*0 -1&,)"*0 ' 3 ** 0.""0 (5,% *0 ##& " ("/ 7 " %*& ( 1,,+.0 7 4 7 ) &( .+0 .5!.&((&*$"-1&,)"*0 $) &( +) 10%+.&6"! *!2&' &/0.& 10+. ".2&*$ 0%" .+1*!3 0". *!1/0.5 In Memoriam Ruth Ross-Ziolkowski 6/26/1926 ~ 05/21/2014 The WWDR Team was saddened to hear of the passing of Ruth Ziolkowski, wife of the late Korczak Ziolkowski, sculp- tor of the Crazy Horse monument in South Dakota. Ruth and Korczak dedicated their lives to the monu- ment, refusing government funding and insisting it be built using donations from the public. Together they had ten children, all of whom worked on the monument growing up. Under her leadership, uninterrupted progress continued on the sculpture after her husband’s passing in 1982. In addition to the monument, the Indian Museum of North America was established, as well as a scholarship program for Native American students. Ruth is survived by nine of her children, John, Dawn, Adam, Jadwiga, Casimir, Mark, Joel, Monique, and Marinka. Her daughter Anne passed away in 2011. She had 23 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She will be buried next to her husband in a tomb her husband and sons blasted from a rock outcropping at Crazy Horse.