blackjewel

Nearly 600 people worked at the vast, open-pit mines, which were among the most productive in the U.S.

After another unsuccessful attempt to get $20 million, it was able to obtain $5 million in emergency funding to secure the mines and the equipment.

The attorneys for Blackjewel said they expect to provide another status report by Wednesday.

Cloud Peak filed for bankruptcy itself in May but its Wyoming mines and its Spring Creek mine in Montana have remained open.

Wyoming Machinery Co., owns a lot of equipment at the mines and it provides monthly about $3 million in maintenance and other services.

The company said in a release that it intends to compensate employees for time worked before the filing.

On July 1, Blackjewel LLC, announced that it could not get a $20 million loan from a creditor bank, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy business reorganization.

Von Flatern said he emailed every state lawmaker this year about requiring monthly payments to counties, but no one responded.

The bankruptcy court also authorized the debtors to pay vendors and shippers that billed Blackjewel before the bankruptcy petition.

The loans can also be used for essential firefighting personnel to the extent required to extinguish active fires at Blackjewel's mines.