Peabody sells undeveloped Bowen basin coal tenements to Pembroke

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – US coal major Peabody Energy has announced plans to divest of its interest in several undeveloped metallurgical coal tenements in Queensland’s Bowen basin.

The energy major said this week that several of its Australian subsidiaries had entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Australia’s Pembroke Resources in a deal valued at A$104-million.

The transactions included the Olive Downs South, Olive Downs South Extended, Willunga and Olive Downs North tenements, which comprise undeveloped and probable reserves of about 165-million tonnes.

Peabody had received cash proceeds of A$65-million as part of the transaction, with an additional A$22-million of proceeds anticipated to be received before the end of the third quarter of 2016, once certain governmental and regulatory approvals were granted.

The balance of the transaction related to the sale of select tenements held by the Coppabella-Moorvale Joint Venture (CMJV) and were subject to approval by the CMJV partners and other conditions.

Peabody reported that the sale formed part of the company’s overall portfolio management strategy, and was one of a range of measures the company was taking to improve the business across its three core priorities, namely operational, financial and portfolio. 

Peabody earlier this year filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the majority of its US entities as the coal mine struggled to sustain operations in the low-price environment.

Peabody had posted four consecutive yearly losses, including a $2-billion loss in 2015, on the back of revenue falling 17% to $5.6-billion. The company listed $10.1-billion in debt and $11-billion in assets, including ownership interests in 26 active mines in the US and Australia.

Meanwhile, Pembroke Resources had also inked a A$16-million agreement with CITIC Resources over its shareholding in the Olive Downs South, Olive Downs South Extended, Willunga and Olive Downs North coal interests, giving the company full ownership of both the Olive Downs South and Willunga projects, as well as an 87.3% interest in the Olive Downs North tenements, subject to the approval of the minority partners.