Manatt Partner Comments on Navajo Mine Deal
"Manatt, Munger Guide Mine Deal"
Daily Journal
November 4, 2013 - Manatt's Craig Moyer, chair of the firm's Land, Environment & Natural Resources Division, spoke to the Daily Journal about his representation of the Navajo Nation in its purchase of a New Mexico mine for $85 million.
The Daily Journal reports that the mine was purchased from BHP Navajo Coal Co. and is the only supplier of coal to the nearby Four Corners Power Plant, which provides electricity to approximately 300,000 homes across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Navajo Nation is the largest government-recognized tribe in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of its members residing primarily in Arizona and New Mexico.
"The Nation was approached about the idea of keeping it alive, maintaining the jobs, securing the revenue stream," said Moyer, who was lead counsel on the deal. The Nation doesn't pay federal income tax and "that's what allowed the deal to go forward," he said. "Now, because of the tax structure, they can make a marginally profitable operation and make it more profitable."