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Asset Impairment and Mine Closure Costs | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2016
Asset Impairment and Mine Closure Costs [Abstract] |
Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Asset Impairment Year Ended December 31, 2016 The following costs are reflected in "Asset impairment" in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016:
|  | Reportable Segment |  |
|  | Australian Metallurgical Mining |  | Corporate and Other |  | Consolidated
|  | (Dollars in millions)
Asset impairment charges |  | $ | 193.2 |  |  | $ | 54.7 |  |  | $ | 247.9 |
Australian Metallurgical Mining On November 3, 2016, Peabody Australia Mining Pty Ltd, one of the Company’s Australian subsidiaries, entered into a definitive share sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for the sale of all of its equity interest in Metropolitan Collieries Pty Ltd, the entity that owns the Metropolitan mine in New South Wales, Australia and the associated interest in the Port Kembla Coal Terminal, to a subsidiary of South32 Limited (South32). Pursuant to the SPA, the Company will receive cash consideration of $200 million, subject to a customary working capital adjustment. The transaction also includes contingent consideration that enables the Company to share equally with South32 in any revenue above an agreed metallurgical coal price forward curve, after taxes, royalties and appropriate discounts, on all coal sold for the 12 months following completion of the transaction, subject to extension if a minimum amount of coal is not sold during that period. The closing of the transaction is conditional on receipt of approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC). On February 22, 2017, the ACCC issued a Statement of Issues relating to the transaction, noting that the ACCC is continuing to review the transaction. On February 24, 2017, pursuant to its right under the SPA, South32 extended the CP End Date (as defined in the SPA) from March 3, 2017 to April 17, 2017. On March 21, 2017, the ACCC notified the Company that it has extended the date on which it intends to render its decision regarding the transaction to April 27, 2017, which date extends beyond the CP End Date. As a result, the Company is assessing its options under the SPA. The Company determined that, as a result of entering into the transaction, and the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors of such a transaction in October 2016, the Metropolitan mine was deemed to meet held-for-sale accounting criteria in the fourth quarter of 2016. Accordingly, the Company recorded an after-tax impairment charge of $193.2 million to write down the assets to their estimated selling price, which is the best estimate of fair value under a held-for-sale accounting model. Corporate and Other During a 2016 review of its asset portfolio and prepetition leases, the Company identified certain non-strategic Midwestern coal reserves held under lease that were determined to be uneconomical to be mined in the future. As a result, the Company rejected certain leases and recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $37.5 million. The Company also recognized a $17.2 million impairment charge to record at fair value certain non-strategic Australian metallurgical assets classified as held for sale. For additional information regarding those divested assets, refer to Note 22. "Resource Management, Acquisitions and Other Commercial Events". Risks and Uncertainties The Company's mining and exploration assets and mining-related investments may be adversely affected by numerous uncertain factors that may cause the Company to be unable to recover all or a portion of the carrying value of those assets. The Company generally does not view short-term declines in thermal and metallurgical coal prices as an indicator of impairment. However, the Company generally views a sustained trend (for example, over periods exceeding one year) of adverse coal pricing or unfavorable changes thereto as a potential indicator of impairment. Because of the volatile and cyclical nature of coal prices and demand, it is reasonably possible that coal prices may decrease and/or fail to improve in the near term, which, absent sufficient mitigation such as an offsetting reduction in the Company's operating costs, may result in the need for future adjustments to the carrying value of the Company's long-lived mining assets and mining-related investments. The Company's assets whose recoverability and values are most sensitive to near-term pricing include certain Australian metallurgical and thermal assets and certain U.S. coal properties being leased to unrelated mining companies under agreements that require royalties to be paid as the coal is mined. These assets had an aggregate carrying value of $1,407.3 million as of December 31, 2016. The Company conducted a review of those assets for recoverability as of December 31, 2016 and determined that, other than the charges described above, no further impairment charge was necessary as of that date. Year Ended December 31, 2015 The following costs are reflected in "Asset impairment" in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015:
|  | Reportable Segment |  |
|  | Australian Metallurgical Mining |  | Australian Thermal Mining |  | Midwestern U.S. Mining |  | Corporate and Other |  | Consolidated
|  | (Dollars in millions)
Asset impairment charges: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Long-lived assets |  | $ | 675.2 |  |  | $ | 17.5 |  |  | $ | 40.2 |  |  | $ | 268.4 |  |  | $ | 1,001.3 |
Equity method investment |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 276.5 |  |  | 276.5 |
Total |  | $ | 675.2 |  |  | $ | 17.5 |  |  | $ | 40.2 |  |  | $ | 544.9 |  |  | $ | 1,277.8 |
Australian Metallurgical and Thermal Mining Due to the severity of the decline in seaborne metallurgical and thermal coal pricing observed during 2015 and other adverse supply and demand conditions noted during the year that drove an unfavorable change in the expected timing of eventual seaborne supply and demand rebalancing, the Company concluded that indicators of impairment existed surrounding its Australian mining platform as of June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2015. Accordingly, the Company reviewed its Australian mining assets for recoverability at those dates and determined that the carrying values of three of its active mines that produce metallurgical coal were not recoverable and recognized impairment charges of $230.5 million and $144.5 million during the three-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2015, respectively, to write those assets down to their estimated fair value. Also during 2015, the Company reviewed its portfolio of mining tenements and surface lands to identify non-strategic assets that could be monetized. In connection with that review, certain of such assets were deemed to meet held-for-sale accounting criteria or were otherwise deemed more likely to generate cash flows through divestiture rather than development, with the long-term plans for certain adjacent assets also consequently affected. Accordingly, the Company recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $317.7 million to write down the targeted divestiture assets and abandoned assets to their estimated fair value. Midwestern U.S. Mining The Company identified indicators of impairment to be present for one of its inactive surface mines due to the property no longer being part of the Company's long-term mining plan as a result of the decline in thermal coal prices and a lack of observed interest from potential buyers in acquiring the asset. Accordingly, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $30.5 million to write down the asset to its estimated fair value. Due to the severity of the decline in thermal coal pricing observed during 2015 and other adverse market conditions noted during 2015, the Company identified indicators of impairment to be present for one of its Midwestern U.S. Mining assets. Due to the adverse conditions, the Company's long-term mining plan changed and the asset was no longer part of the long-term mining plan. Accordingly, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $9.7 million to write down the asset to its estimated fair value. Corporate and Other Long-lived Assets. In connection with a similar review of the Company's asset portfolio conducted during 2015 to identify non-strategic domestic assets that could be monetized, the Company identified non-strategic, non-coal-supplying assets as held-for-sale rather than held-for-use as of December 31, 2015. Accordingly, the Company recognized an impairment charge of $182.2 million to write the assets down to estimated fair value. The Company also identified indicators of impairment to be present for several of its non-strategic undeveloped coal properties that are no longer part of the Company's long-term mining plan as a result of the decline in thermal coal prices and a lack of observed interest from potential buyers in acquiring those assets. Accordingly, the Company recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $86.2 million to write down the assets to their estimated fair value. Equity Method Investment. Due to the impairment indicators noted above surrounding the Company's Australian platform, the Company similarly reviewed its total investment in Middlemount, which owns the Middlemount Mine in Queensland, Australia, as of December 31, 2015. As a result of that review, the Company determined that the carrying value of its equity investment in Middlemount was other-than-temporarily impaired and recorded a charge of $46.6 million to write-off the investment. The Company, along with the other equity interest holder, also periodically makes loans to Middlemount pursuant to the related stockholders’ agreement for purposes of funding capital expenditures and working capital requirements. The Company reviewed the loans for impairment and recorded a charge of $229.9 million to write down the full carrying value of the Subordinated Loans. The Subordinated Loans are provided on an equal and shared basis with the other equity interest holder, and the Company's and the other equity interest holder's claims under the Subordinated Loans are on equal footing. The Company also has Priority Loans to Middlemount which have seniority over the fully impaired Subordinated Loans. The Priority Loans amounted to $84.8 million and $65.2 million at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and were not impaired as of December 31, 2016 as the Company had the intent and ability to hold the loans to payoff and Middlemount had sufficient assets to settle. The fair value estimates made during the Company's impairment assessments were determined in accordance with the methods outlined in Note 1. "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies", except in certain instances where indicative bids were received related to non-strategic assets being marketed for divestiture. In those instances, the indicative bids were also considered in estimating fair value. Year Ended December 31, 2014 The following costs are reflected in "Asset impairment" in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2014:
|  | Reportable Segment |  |
|  | Australian Metallurgical Mining |  | Australian Thermal Mining |  | Western U.S. Mining |  | Corporate and Other |  | Consolidated
|  | (Dollars in millions)
Asset impairment charges: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Long-lived assets |  | $ | 66.7 |  |  | $ | 11.9 |  |  | $ | 2.7 |  |  | $ | 68.4 |  |  | $ | 149.7 |
Marketable securities |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 4.7 |  |  | 4.7 |
Total |  | $ | 66.7 |  |  | $ | 11.9 |  |  | $ | 2.7 |  |  | $ | 73.1 |  |  | $ | 154.4 |
Australian Metallurgical and Thermal Mining In 2014, the Company observed continued weakness in seaborne metallurgical and thermal coal pricing that has persisted longer than the Company previously anticipated and, accordingly, conducted a review of its Australian Metallurgical Mining and Australian Thermal Mining segment assets for recoverability. Based on that evaluation, the following Australian segments were impacted as follows: Australian Metallurgical Mining. The Company determined that the carrying value of one of its active surface mines and a non-strategic undeveloped coal property were not recoverable and correspondingly recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $66.7 million to write those assets down from their carrying value to their estimated fair value. In addition to the impairment indicators surrounding the segment, the fair value of the impaired surface mining operation was affected by a short remaining economic life compared to those of other operations and the incremental cost associated with utilizing a contractor to operate the mine. Australian Thermal Mining. The Company determined that the carrying values of a non-strategic undeveloped coal property was not recoverable and correspondingly recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $11.9 million to write those assets down from its carrying value to their estimated fair value. Corporate and Other The Company also identified indicators of impairment to be present in 2014 for certain assets in its Corporate and Other segment. Those assets were certain non-strategic undeveloped coal properties in Indiana and Colorado that were found to be impaired due to a lack of observed interest from potential buyers in acquiring those assets, properties that are no longer part of the Company's long-term mining plan and, in the case of certain of the assets, an election by the Company to terminate or allow the lapse of mining-related leases. The Company determined the carrying value of those holdings to not be recoverable and recognized an aggregate impairment charge of $68.4 million to write down the carrying value of the related properties.

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- Definition Asset Impairment and Mine Closure Costs [Abstract] + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition The entire disclosure for the details of the charge against earnings resulting from the aggregate write down of all assets from their carrying value to their fair value. Disclosure may also include a description of the impaired asset and facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, amount of the impairment loss and where the loss is located in the income statement, method(s) for determining fair value, and the segment in which the impaired asset is reported. + References No definition available. + Details
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