Midwest Operations

Peabody is No. 1 in the Midwest, shipping about 30 million tons of coal annually from Illinois and Indiana mines to electricity generators and industrial customers throughout the region. 

The company operates multiple underground and surface mines throughout the Illinois Basin, the fastest-growing coal-producing region in the United States.

Opened in 2010, Peabody’s Bear Run Mine in Sullivan County, Ind., will be the largest surface mine in the eastern United States, with an 8 million-ton annual production capacity.

Also in Indiana are the underground Francisco Mine in Gibson County and the surface Viking Mine in Daviess County. The Somerville Mine Complex in Gibson County, Ind., consists of three surface mines: Somerville North, Somerville South and Somerville Central. The company commissioned the new Wild Boar Mine, a surface operation, in Lynnville, Ind., in late 2010.

In Illinois, Peabody operates the underground Gateway Mine near Coulterville, as well as the surface Cottage Grove Mine and the underground Wildcat Hills Mine in Gallatin and Saline counties. Also in Saline County is the underground Willow Lake Mine, which has suspended operations and is transitioning to permanent closure.

Colorado Operations

Peabody's Twentymile Mine in Routt County, Colo., is one of the largest underground mines in the United States.

Coal from the Twentymile Mine has a high heating value of 11,200 Btu per pound and low sulfur and ash content, which makes it ideal for electricity generation.

Twentymile is a longwall operation, with one of the fastest, most powerful shearers in operation and longwall panels that are 1,000 feet wide and more than two miles long.

The operation's conveyor belt travels more than five miles underground and two miles on the surface. The Twentymile preparation plant is the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River.

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