Mining at Center, North Dakota

Mining has been part of Center, North Dakota’s history for over a century. The Landsat 5 image from August 1984 (left) shows significant surface mining of lignite coal just to the southeast of town, during a summer when drought had browned the countryside. Thirty-two years later, mining activity moved to the southwest of Center. An additional mining operation also began near the Milton R. Young Power Plant just southwest of Nelson Lake, where lignite is used to heat water and create steam to drive electricity-producing turbines. The North Dakota Geological Survey estimates that western North Dakota contains about 1.3 trillion tons of lignite, and that 25 billion tons are recoverable—enough to last more than 800 years at the current production rate of 30 million tons per year. Left image taken by the Landsat 5 satellite. Right image taken by Landsat 8. Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Landsat Missions Gallery: “Landsat Monitors Mining at Center of North America Near Town of Center”; U.S. Department of the Interior / USGS and NASA.