[2]: 1 The Kayenta mine was located near the northern edge of Black Mesa, a 5,400 square mile highland plateau in northeast Arizona that contains extensive coal deposits in several geologic formations.

[5][6]: 171 In the early 1900s, limited surveying of the coal field was made and a number of small underground mines were put into production, supplying local reservation schools and communities in the region.

[7][8] The coal field received increased attention beginning in 1950 when the Navajo-Hopi Long Range Rehabilitation Act was enacted in response to dire economic conditions on the reservations.

The Black Mesa mine, located on 20,775 acres in the southwestern section of the leasehold area, began operation in 1970 supplying the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nevada via a pipeline.

The Kayenta mine, on 44,073 acres in the northern and eastern sections, began operation in 1973 supplying the Navajo Generating Station near Page, Arizona.

Excavators, loaders and haul trucks then remove the exposed coal to a collection point, where it is crushed and loaded on a 17-mile-long (27 km) overland belt conveyor.

[11]: 17–18 [22] Measures to protect air quality include water sprays and sprinklers to control dust on dirt roads and disturbed areas, enclosures and water sprays at belt conveyor transfer points, baghouses on coal storage silos, and other requirements of the mine's Clean Air Act operating permit NN-OP 08-010.

[23] Peabody maintains a network of PM10 particulate monitors to assess the effectiveness of fugitive dust control measures and ensure compliance with national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS).

[24]: 11 [25] The mine pumps about 1,240 acre-feet (1.5 million cubic meters) of ground water per year from the Navajo aquifer (aka N-aquifer).

Up until December 2005, the Black Mesa mine had used ground water to slurry coal through a 273-mile-long (439 km) pipeline to the Mohave Generating Station.

[11]: 30, 36 Once a section has been mined out, it is backfilled and graded to the approximate previous contour and topped with suitable spoil, subsoil, and topsoil to create a four-foot-thick root zone.

[11]: 50 [26]: A-17  Replanted areas are monitored for a minimum of 10 years to correct any erosion problems, control invasive weeds, and insure the plant systems are fully established before being released for grazing.