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Organization and Business
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization and Business  
Organization and Business

1. Organization and Business

We are one of the largest producers of coal in the United States of America (“U.S.”) and the Powder River Basin (“PRB”), based on our 2016 coal sales. We operate some of the safest mines in the coal industry. According to the most current Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) data, we have one of the lowest employee all injury incident rates among the largest U.S. coal producing companies.

We currently operate solely in the PRB, the lowest cost region of the major coal producing regions in the U.S., where we own and operate three surface coal mines: the Antelope Mine, the Cordero Rojo Mine, and the Spring Creek Mine. Our Antelope Mine and Cordero Rojo Mine are located in Wyoming and our Spring Creek Mine is located in Montana.  Our mines produce subbituminous thermal coal with low sulfur content, and we sell our coal primarily to domestic and foreign electric utilities.  Thermal coal is primarily consumed by electric utilities and industrial consumers as fuel for electricity generation.  In 2016, the coal we produced generated approximately 3% of the electricity produced in the U.S. We do not produce any metallurgical coal.

In addition, we have two development projects, both located in the Northern PRB. For purposes of this report, the term “Northern PRB” refers to the area within the PRB that lies within Montana and the northern part of Sheridan County, Wyoming. The Youngs Creek project is an undeveloped surface mine project located in Wyoming, seven miles south of our Spring Creek Mine and contiguous with the Wyoming-Montana state line. The Big Metal project is located near the Youngs Creek project on the Crow Indian Reservation in southeast Montana.

Our logistics business provides a variety of services designed to facilitate the sale and delivery of coal.  These services include the purchase of coal from third parties or from our owned and operated mines, coordination of the transportation and delivery of purchased coal, negotiation of take-or-pay rail agreements and take-or-pay port agreements and demurrage settlement with vessel operators.  See Note 7 for further discussion.

Equity Offering and 2019 Notes Redemption

On February 28, 2017, we issued 13.5 million shares of common stock through a registered underwritten public offering and received proceeds, net of underwriting discounts and commissions, of $64.7 million. We used the net proceeds from the offering to fund the full redemption of our outstanding 8.50% Senior Notes due 2019 (the “2019 Notes”). On March 31, 2017, we redeemed the 2019 Notes at a total cost of $64.5 million, reflecting a redemption price of 101.417% of the principal amount of $62.1 million, or $63.0 million, plus accrued and unpaid interest of $1.5 million.

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). In accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial statements, these Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements do not include certain information and footnote disclosures that are required to be included in annual financial statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP. The year-end Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet data was derived from the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements. Accordingly, these Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, and for each of the three years ended December 31, 2016, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (“2016 Form 10-K”). In the opinion of management, the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements contain all adjustments, which are of a normal and recurring nature, necessary to a fair statement of our financial position as of September 30, 2017, and the results of our operations, comprehensive income, and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, in conformity with U.S. GAAP. Our results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for future quarters or for the year ending December 31, 2017.

The preparation of our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates in these Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include: assumptions about the amount and timing of future cash flows and related discount rates used in determining asset retirement obligations (“AROs”) and in testing long-lived assets and goodwill for impairment; the fair value of derivative financial instruments; the calculation of mineral reserves; equity-based compensation expense; workers’ compensation claims; reserves for contingencies and litigation; useful lives of long-lived assets; postretirement employee benefit obligations; the recognition and measurement of income tax benefits and related deferred tax asset valuation allowances; and allowances for inventory obsolescence and net realizable value. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Certain immaterial amounts in prior years have been reclassified to conform to the 2017 presentation. Due to the tabular presentation of rounded amounts, certain tables reflect insignificant rounding differences.