JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Lenton joint venture, in which coal miner New Hope holds a 90% interest, on Monday completed the A$14.4-million purchase of mining tenements at the Burton mine, in Queensland, from coal major Peabody Energy.
The acquisition, announced in September, included four mining tenements and their infrastructure.
Peabody placed the Burton coal mine under care and maintenance in December.
The Lenton JV controls a number of tenements around the Burton mine, including the Lenton opencut project where New Hope had an environmental authority to allow for mining of up to two-million tonnes a year, with the company exploring options to ramp up this potential production to 3.5-million tonnes a year.
Peabody said that the completion of the transaction reduced its retirement obligation by about $41-million. The sale also provided for the release of about $30-million of restricted cash in support of such asset retirement obligation, which combined with the company's recently announced revolving credit facility, was expected to free up approximately $300-million in cash.