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Environmental

Land and Biodiversity



Our Approach

Peabody is committed to progressively restoring areas disturbed by mining to ensure positive post-mine land use, landform, biodiversity and environmental outcomes. Our approach to contemporaneous reclamation benefits both operations and the environment by minimizing our footprint and efficiently restoring the land as we mine at the lowest cost. 
Before any mining activity begins, we complete comprehensive baseline studies. We look at local ecosystems, geology, surface water, groundwater, land uses and other relevant resources to support detailed assessments. These inform our mine plans and measures to reduce potential impacts from our operations, respect critical habitat and execute cost-effective reclamation that restores viable and diverse ecosystems.

Successful land restoration is a recurring metric within Peabody’s executive compensation program, as well, with the goal of reclaiming as much or more land than we disturb on an annual basis. This is an effective metric that balances operational excellence and our commitment to minimizing environmental impacts. 

Our Performance

Over the past five years, Peabody has restored one acre of mined land for every acre disturbed, including restoring more than 3,200 acres of land in 2023. These lands will now serve as wildlife habitat, rangeland, forests, prime farmland, grazing land and wetlands. Reclaimed lands may also be utilized for renewable energy development projects such as the ongoing work in our Midwest Thermal Operations through the R3 Renewables joint venture. In the U.S., Peabody had approximately 2,600 acres approved for final phase bond release at the end of 2023.

Current Stories and Initiatives

Two Peabody Operations Receive Reclamation Awards


Peabody’s Kayenta Mine and North Antelope Rochelle Mine were recognized for their outstanding reclamation efforts. The American Society of Reclamation Sciences awarded Kayenta with the Distinction in Reclamation Award and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality presented the 2024 Excellence in Reclamation Award for coal to NARM.
 
“For over 60 years, Peabody has been a pioneer in the reclamation space. As a company, we pride ourselves on the innovative ways we find to not only return the land we mine to an equal or better condition, but to enhance its future use for the communities living nearby,” Jim Grech, Peabody President and Chief Executive Officer, said. “Thank you to our dedicated reclamation teams across the U.S. and Australia who are making these goals a reality.
Kayenta Reclamation
 
At Kayenta, the reclamation efforts were unique in the use of a dragline to help achieve the final grade necessary for the site. The area recognized by this reclamation award was mined from 2003 to 2016 with a Bucyrus Erie 8200 dragline with an 80 cubic yard bucket and a 2570 dragline with a 100 cubic yard bucket as an open pit multi-seam operation. The spoil ridge created during mining had to be placed back in the final pit. This could be achieved most cost effectively with a dragline, and Peabody committed to reclaiming the pit with the dragline prior to shutting down the machine.
 
Now that the land has been completely reclaimed, the local Navajo population takes pride in raising animals and utilizing the land to provide nourishment for them. Hopefully, the area will be used for years to come by local residents who traditionally used the land prior to mining, by wildlife that roam the area and by community members who will utilize the abundant cultural plants for medicinal use.
 
Tony Kesoli Lii’bilNaghahi, of the Navajo Nation, wrote in a recommendation letter for the award, “As Peabody Coal Company moved into the area, the local community was indignant of the caveats of mining. However, it is with honor that I praise the reclamation department. Regardless of the tremendous impacts from the mining, they came in, with deep commitment in mind right from the start in restoring the ecosystem and is keeping steadfast with this envisage to their present effort.”
 
Likewise at NARM, the team was recognized for their work at the 3,682-acre southeast reclamation area. The coal seam in the PRB is 65-80 feet thick and its removal can result in postmining topographies with flat surfaces. By designing the primary post mine drainages to mirror the lower elevation and grade of the mine’s haul roads, additional material was available to increase the elevation and slope of the uplands. This allowed for greater landscape diversity that maximized the value of the post-mining land use of wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Wetlands, reservoirs, playas and stock wells were distributed throughout the landscape at a density greater than prior to mining and the upland landforms benefit wildlife by offering additional wind protection and wildlife shelter.  
 
“The proactive upfront planning conducted by the North Antelope Rochelle Mine on this project was very impressive. This is an excellent example of a mining company taking decades of reclamation experience and using it to achieve success on the ground over a large area, with enormous benefits to the post-mining land use of wildlife and livestock,” Matt Kunze, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, said.
 
Successful reclamation and bond release are the final steps of the mining process and Peabody continues its long-standing efforts to reclaim the land promptly in a manner that leads to timely bond release. Peabody’s U.S. Operations have received approval for over $100 million in reclamation bond releases thus far in 2024.

Metropolitan Mine Funds Conservation Project to Help Endangered Frog


In a significant new partnership, Metropolitan Mine has contributed $220,000 to a breed-to-release program to help reintroduce the endangered Southern Stuttering Frog into the Royal National Park south of Sydney.
 
These frogs are believed to have been geographically extinct in the park for over 15 years and once thrived in coastal areas of New South Wales but their population declined primarily due to the highly contagious chytrid fungus.
 
Purpose built breeding facilities have now been established at Symbio Wildlife Park’s headquarters in Helensburgh, where an extensive program aims to reverse the decline of the species and carefully select the best release points.

James Hannigan, General Manager of Peabody’s Metropolitan Mine said the mine was proud to contribute to a conservation program that could see this special frog once again make its home in the Royal National Park.
 
“All of us at Metropolitan Mine understand how important it is to protect the environment we live in and we’ve been contributing to environmental programs in our local community for over a decade.”
 
“Symbio Wildlife Park makes a tangible impact on the local biodiversity and its breed-to-release program will deliver positive and lasting environmental outcomes for the region. Metropolitan is a close neighbour of the Royal National Park and many of our employees not only live locally but also have close ties to the community, making supporting this initiative important to the wider team,” Mr Hannigan said.

Students from Helensburgh schools, including Holy Cross Catholic Parish Primary School, will participate in the project by growing vegetables like endives in the school garden as feedstock for frogs.
 
Milena Colussi, Principal of Holy Cross Catholic Parish Primary School, said: “Our school has a long history of working with Metropolitan Mine and the students are delighted to be part of a real world conservation project that will help future generations experience a part of the Royal National Park that we might have otherwise lost.”
 
The release of Southern Stuttering Frogs into the Royal National Park is planned for later this year. Following the release, a comprehensive monitoring program will closely observe the frogs to ensure they adapt to the area.
 

ASRS Reclamationist of the Year

Peabody was pleased to have two employees recognized for their innovative and dedicated work in the field of reclamation at the 40th Annual American Society of Reclamation Sciences’ (ASRS) Conference in June 2023. Marie Shepherd, of the Kayenta Mine, was given the Reclamationist of the Year award and Bryan Hansen, from NARM, received the Pioneer in Reclamation award. 

The Reclamationist of the Year award recognizes individuals demonstrating outstanding accomplishments in the practical application or evaluation of reclamation technology. It also rewards individuals responsible for implementing innovative practices or designs for new reclamation strategies. The Pioneer in Reclamation award is presented to an individual that has had significant impact and influence in the field of environmental science and reclamation relating to disturbed ecosystems over their entire career. 

Shepherd, a member of the Navajo Nation, has been at the Kayenta mine for over 11 years. “We are restoring the lands to be used for decades to come,” Shepherd said. During Kayenta’s reclamation, Shepherd managed to reclaim about 400 acres per year over a five-year period. She has integrated geomorphic concepts into reclamation plans and coordinates Peabody’s cultural planting program at the site. 
 

Bear Run Mine Recognized by Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Peabody’s Bear Run Mine received the Indiana Excellence in Mining and Reclamation Award recognizing the success of the mine’s reclamation efforts. The award focused on the techniques used in the reclamation of Pit 1, mined from 2009 – 2011. Reclamation was done contemporaneously with operations and posed interesting and complicated challenges for the team. Throughout the process, reclamation staff balanced replacing streams and county roads and maintaining the approximate original contour of the land to allow for prime farm ground to be replaced while accounting for a 15 – 20% swell in overburden backfill. 

The success of this reclamation is obvious. Today, the trees that were planted in the Pit 1 area are well over 15 feet tall and producing fruit (acorns). When it comes to the prime farmland areas, the crops planted all exceeded the required yields, some by nearly double. The streams that have been reclaimed in the mitigation are stable, sustainable and robust. The engineered structures placed in the streams have helped keep the main channel from eroding or migrating from its designed path.

Now, the reclaimed area is used by both nature and people. Several different species of wildlife have been spotted in and around the area including short eared owls, bald eagles, coyotes, deer, quail, dove, snakes and many more. The prime farm ground is leased by local farmers for hay/alfalfa production. In the future, the mixture of open farm fields with the streams and forest areas will provide many recreational hunting opportunities.

Peabody is a leading coal producer, providing essential products for the production of affordable, reliable energy and steel. Our commitment to sustainability underpins everything we do and shapes our strategy for the future.