I think the owners of the vast majority of the coal deposits in the US should think long term and demand changes in our outdated mining laws before we get too far down this 'give it to China' syndrome road.
How much does the Federal Government get per ton on average for the coal it gives companies like Peabody to mine?
What will that be worth in 20 or 100 years?
When diesel fuel becomes expensive to produce from oil, will coal>diesel plants become our next big thing in providing for our enormous appetite for carbon based energy? http://www.greencarcongress.com/2012/08/usf-20120822.html
I'm not too worried about 100 stevedore jobs here or there, when the stakes are so high elsewhere.

You should be more worried about the impacts to the global climate and ocean acidification if we continue to emit CO2 at current rates.

Answer: The coal companies pay a 12.5% royalty on the coal "at the mine mouth" or about $1.25 to $1.50 per ton, plus their leasing fees to strip mine the PRB lands, typically less (often much less) than $1.00 per ton. After some small adjustments, these fees and royalties are divided 50-50 between the feds, on the one hand, and Montana or Wyoming, on the other.

A little historical perspective is needed here. Until the middle of the 20th century US prosperity was based primarily on exploiting an abundance of natural resources without the limitation or expense of a complex regulatory regime. Then for a short period the US had a vibrant manufacturing economy whose remarkable wealth creation was sufficient to support the luxurious costs of a regulatory scheme that mitigated (to some degree) the adverse impacts attendant to its generation.

But now we are coming full circle. Local manufacturing is disappearing and we are returning to our origins as a Third World resource economy. Except that we still retain the absurd regulatory burdens of our prior golden age. This unnecessary administrative superstructure is outmoded and will have to go. It is well known that Third World economies only generate enough wealth to provide a comfortable living to those at the very top. Plus one really has to wonder how long our Chinese masters will want to put up with this inefficient crap. There inevitably will be a limit to their renowned patience and benevolence. If the citizens of Beijing can adapt to wearing gas masks as they go about their daily lives, why can't we?