Wyodak Mine
Wyoming
Six miles east of Gillette, the Wyodak Mine holds an unusual distinction: it is believed to be the oldest continuously operating surface coal mine in the United States. It opened in nineteen twenty-three, established by Homestake Mining Company to provide coal for its gold mining operations in South Dakota. The name Wyodak blends Wyoming and Dakota, reflecting that cross-state supply chain.
Black Hills Corporation purchased the mine in nineteen fifty-six and expanded it steadily. Today Wyodak produces roughly five to six million tons of coal a year from the Powder River Basin's thick, low-sulfur seams, much of it traveling by conveyor belt directly to adjacent power plants. The Powder River Basin, of which Wyodak is an ancestor, now produces more coal than any other region in North America. What started as a support operation for a gold mine became the template for an entire industry.
