Wiring The World For Navajo Students (NAPSA)—In a remote community on the Navajo reservation in IS northeastern Arizona, students are enjoying doing their home- work on-line. They’re also accessing information about their hobbies on the Internet and making newfriends in other towns. These activities would have been impossible only a few yearsago, if not for a successful partnership that transformed the town of Forest Lake into a “smart community.” In fact, Forest Lake wasso isolated, it didn’t have e-mail, Internet connections or telephones. So as a good neighbor, Peabody Energy helped wire the community, working with partners from the public school district, the tribal communications company and the federal government. It’s a classic example of how mining on Black Mesa helps build communities by developing partnerships, providing in-kind assistance and injecting direct economic benefits into area economies. For three decades, the com- pany’s nearby Black Mesa and Kayenta mines have produced low-cost energy to feed computers and light the futures of millions of families in the Southwest. The mines are located on Navajo and Hopi lands. Each year, they produce about 13 million tons of highquality coal for the Mohave Generating Station near Laughlin, Nev., and the Navajo Generating Station near Page, Ariz. “The mines are very important to the Navajo and Hopi,” explains Tribal Affairs Manager Walter Begay Jr. “Mining on Black Mesa provides a stable source of rev- In addition to providing jobs and electricity, an energy pro- ducer—working with local partners—haslinked Native American students to the Internet. enue the tribes use to provide essential services. It also contributes to quality of life by supporting communities and schools.” The mining injects $2 million weekly in direct benefits into tribal communities from royalties, taxes, wages and contributions or more than $2 billion since the mining began. This revenue provides 80 percent of the Hopi’s annual budget and 30 percent of the Navajo’s general budget. Energy from Black Mesacreates 650 jobs on reservation lands, making Peabody among the nation’s largest private employers of Native Americans. More than 90 percent of the Black Mesa workforce is Native American, and employees earn wages that are seven times higher than the per capita income for the Navajo Nation. Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU)is the world’s largest private-sector coal company. To learn more, visit the website at www.PeabodyEnergy.com.
