MEDIA RELEASE PR38074
Peabody Energy Board of Directors Approves 1 Million Ton-Per-Year Expansion of
Metropolitan Metallurgical Coal Mine in Australia
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
The Board of Directors of Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) today approved the
upgrade and expansion of the Metropolitan Mine in New South Wales, Australia.
The expansion is expected to increase capacity by 1 million tons within
several years. Capital investments for the expansion are expected to total
$70 million, of which approximately $15 million is targeted for 2010.
Metropolitan Mine received final permits to proceed with the expansion in the
second half of 2009.
In 2009, Metropolitan shipped 1.5 million tons of mostly hard coking coal
for export to Asian steel producers. Metropolitan Mine is an underground mine
using the longwall method. Its coal ships through Port Kembla south of
Sydney.
"The Metropolitan Mine expansion is one of a number of projects aimed at
nearly doubling Peabody's Australian met coal and thermal export platform by
2014," said Peabody Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory H.
Boyce. "China, India and other Asia-Pacific Rim nations are significantly
short of quality metallurgical coal. Such coal is in limited supply, but
remains a vital ingredient for a steel industry that is recovering in
developed markets and expanding in emerging nations."
Peabody has multiple Australian expansion projects targeted at raising
the company's metallurgical coal shipments to 12 to 15 million tons per year
by 2014, while increasing thermal coal export capacity to 15 to 17 million
tons per year. Peabody is targeting a 20 to 30 percent increase in 2010
thermal exports and met coal shipments to meet growing global demand.
Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) is the world's largest private-sector coal
company, with 2009 sales of 244 million tons and $6 billion in revenues. Its
coal products fuel 10 percent of all U.S. electricity generation and 2
percent of worldwide electricity.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking as defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions that the company
believes are reasonable, but they are open to a wide range of uncertainties
and business risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from
expectations as of Jan. 28, 2010. These factors are difficult to accurately
predict and may be beyond the company's control. The company does not
undertake to update its forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect
results include those described in this press release as well as risks
detailed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CONTACT:
Vic Svec
(314) 342-7768
SOURCE: Peabody Energy
CONTACT: Vic Svec of Peabody Energy,
+1-314-342-7768
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