PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT:

Property, plant and equipment consists of the following:

	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Plant and Equipment	$	3,066,656	$	3,028,514
Coal Properties and Surface Lands	873,597		872,909
Airshafts	443,600		437,003
Mine Development	342,707		342,706
Advance Mining Royalties	327,138		327,048
Total Property, Plant and Equipment	5,053,698		5,008,180
Less: Accumulated Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization	2,965,903		2,916,015
Total Property, Plant and Equipment, Net	$	2,087,795	$	2,092,165

Coal reserves are controlled either through fee ownership or by lease. The duration of the leases vary; however, the lease terms are generally extended automatically to the exhaustion of economically recoverable reserves, as long as active mining continues. Coal interests held by lease provide the same rights as fee ownership for mineral extraction and are legally considered real property interests.

As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, property, plant and equipment includes gross assets under finance leases of $75,435 and $52,729, respectively. Accumulated amortization for finance leases was $37,861 and $31,373 at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. Amortization expense for assets under finance leases approximated $4,964 and $3,914 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and is included in Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Income.