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Resource Management, Acquisitions and Other Commercial Events | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2017
Resource Management, Acquisitions and Other Commercial Events [Abstract] |
Resource Management, Acquisitions and Other Commercial Events | Resource Management, Acquisitions and Other Commercial Events Organizational Realignment From time to time, the Company initiates restructuring activities in connection with its repositioning efforts to appropriately align its cost structure or optimize its coal production relative to prevailing global coal industry conditions. Costs associated with restructuring actions can include early mine closures, voluntary and involuntary workforce reductions, office closures and other related activities. Included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations were aggregate restructuring charges, primarily comprised of cash severance costs of $7.6 million during the Successor period April 2 through December 31, 2017 and $15.5 million and $23.5 million during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Divestitures and Other Transactions On November 28, 2017, the Company paid $3.0 million for a third-party’s assumption of all rights and obligations related to a guarantee liability recorded pursuant to a 2007 transaction wherein the Company purchased approximately 345 million tons of coal reserves and surface lands in the Illinois Basin. In conjunction with the 2007 purchase, the Company agreed to guarantee certain reclamation and bonding commitments of an affiliate of the seller. The Company extinguished its associated $34.2 million liability upon completion of the 2017 transaction and recorded a gain of $31.2 million which is included within “Net gain on disposals” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the Successor period ended December 31, 2017. On November 27, 2017, the Company completed the sale of the majority of its Burton Mine and related infrastructure to the Lenton Joint Venture for $11.7 million. The Lenton Joint Venture assumed the reclamation obligations associated with the assets acquired in the sale. The transaction reduced the Company’s asset retirement obligation by $40.5 million and reduced the amount of restricted cash held in support of such obligations by approximately $30.0 million. The Burton Mine, located in Queensland’s Bowen Basin, entered a care, maintenance and rehabilitation phase in December 2016 and had no carrying value at the time of sale. In connection with the transaction, the Company recorded a gain of $52.2 million which is included within “Net gain on disposals” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the Successor period ended December 31, 2017. On August 29, 2017, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its 50% interest in the Red Mountain Joint Venture (RMJV) with BHP Billiton Mitsui Coal Pty Ltd (BMC) for $20.0 million. RMJV operates the coal handling and preparation plant utilized by the Company’s Millennium Mine. The transaction closed on February 6, 2018. BMC assumed the reclamation obligations and other commitments associated with the assets of RMJV. The Millennium Mine will have continued usage of the coal handling and preparation plant and the associated rail loading facility until the end of 2019. The Company had a 37.5% interest in Dominion Terminal Associates, a partnership that operates a coal export terminal in Newport News, Virginia that exports both metallurgical and thermal coal primarily to Europe and Brazil. On March 31, 2017, the Company completed a sale of its interest in Dominion Terminal Associates to Contura Terminal, LLC and Ashland Terminal, Inc., both of which are partners of the Dominion Terminal Associates. The Company collected $20.5 million in proceeds and recorded $19.7 million of gain on the sale, which was classified in “Net gain on disposals” in the consolidated statement of operations during the Predecessor period January 1, 2017 through April 1, 2017. In November 2016, the Company 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 South32 Limited (South32). The SPA provided for a cash purchase price of $200.0 million and certain contingent consideration, subject to a customary working capital adjustment. South32 terminated the agreement in April 2017 after it was unable to obtain necessary approvals from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission within the timeframe required under the SPA. As a result of the termination, the Company retained an earnest deposit posted by South32 which was recorded in “Other revenues” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations during the Successor period April 2, 2017 through December 31, 2017. In May 2016, the Company completed the sale of its 5.06% participation interest in the Prairie State Energy Campus to the Wabash Valley Power Association for $57.1 million. The Company recognized a gain on sale of $6.2 million related to the transaction, which was classified in “Net gain on disposals” in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016. In May 2016, the Company entered into sale and purchase agreements with Australia-based Pembroke Resources to sell its interest in undeveloped metallurgical reserve tenements in Queensland’s Bowen Basin. The transaction included Olive Downs South, Olive Downs South Extended and Willunga tenements, which were sold for $64.1 million in cash plus a royalty stream. The Company recognized a gain on sale of $2.8 million related to those tenements, which was classified in “Net gain on disposals” in the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016. The sale and purchase agreement for the remaining tenements, namely the Olive Downs North tenements, terminated in October 2017 as certain closing conditions were not satisfied within the prescribed time period. In November 2015, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to sell its New Mexico and Colorado assets to Bowie Resource Partners, LLC (Bowie) in exchange for cash proceeds of $358 million and the assumption of certain liabilities. Bowie agreed to pay the Company a termination fee of $20 million (Termination Fee) in the event the Company terminated the agreement because Bowie failed to obtain financing and close the transaction. On April 12, 2016, Peabody terminated the agreement and demanded payment of the Termination Fee. Following a favorable judgment by the Bankruptcy Court, the Company collected the Termination Fee from Bowie. The Termination Fee is included in “Other revenues” in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations during the Successor period April 2, 2017 through December 31, 2017. Joint Venture In 2014, the Company agreed to establish an unincorporated joint venture project with Glencore plc (Glencore), in which each party will hold a 50% interest, to combine the existing operations of the Company’s Wambo Open-Cut Mine in Australia with the adjacent coal reserves of Glencore’s United Mine. The Company expects the project to result in several operation synergies, including improved mining productivity, lower per-unit operating costs and an extended mine life. The joint venture operations are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to substantive contingencies, including the requisite regulatory and permitting approvals. At such time as those contingencies have been resolved or are no longer considered to be substantive, the Company will account for its beneficial interest in the combined operations at fair value.

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