Peabody Energy history

In 1895, it began operations of its first mine in Williamson County, Illinois and later expanded its operations in Illinois.

1913: Peabody Coal wins long-term contract with a major utility.

1929: Peabody lists on Midwest Stock Exchange, establishes reputation as coal producer.

In 1949, Peabody Coal was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1962, Peabody expanded into the Pacific with the opening of mining operations in Queensland, Australia.

In 1968, Peabody's assets were acquired by Kennecott Copper Corporation.

In 1976, after eight years of litigation, the FTC ordered Kennecott to divest itself of Peabody Coal Company.

Edwin R. Phelps presided over Peabody during these years of litigation, and in 1978 he was named the company's chairperson.

The safety of Peabody mines was called into question beginning in 1982, when the company was charged with tampering with the results of safety tests at its mine in Morganfield, Kentucky.

In 1983, Quenon was made president and CEO of Peabody's parent company, Peabody Holding Co., and Wayne T. Ewing was named president of Peabody Coal.

Growth in Peabody's operations continued and, in 1984, the company acquired the West Virginia coal mines of Armco Inc. for $257 million, resulting in new contracts with northeastern utility companies.

Hanson PLC acquired Peabody Holding Company, Inc. in 1990, a year after the bidding process had been set in motion by Newmont Mining Corporation, a company in which Hanson had a 49 percent shareholding.

In 1993, Peabody Energy expanded their holdings in the Pacific with the acquisition of three mines in Australia and subsequently developed a fourth operation in New South Wales.

Just before the purchase, Peabody had paid $1.3 million to settle a United Mine Workers claim related to the 1994 transfer of coal reserves to Black Beauty, a nonunion company.

1997: Hanson spins off Peabody into The Energy Group.

In May 1998, Lehman Merchant Banking Partners emerged as Peabody Group's new owner, paying Texas Utilities $2.3 billion.

Peabody Coal raised its stake in Evansville, Indiana-based Black Beauty Coal Co. to 81.7 percent in February 1999.

Peabody Energy netted $456 million in an initial public offering held on May 22, 2001.

The union and government officials were negotiating to keep those mines open beyond 2002, offering millions in incentives and concessions.

The North Goonyella coal mine was acquired by Peabody in 2004.

In October 2006, Peabody completed an acquisition of Excel Coal Limited, an independent coal company in Australia.

On August 30, 2007, Ernie Fletcher, the governor of the United States state of Kentucky signed into state law a bill that will provide approximately $300 million in incentives to Peabody to build a coal gasification plant in that state.

At the 2010 World Energy Congress, Peabody CEO Gregory Boyce proposed a plan that advocated for the expanded use of coal worldwide, placing emphasis on geographic areas with limited or no access to electricity.”

As of 2011, Peabody’s Australian mining operations are located in Queensland and New South Wales.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2016, Peabody reported a net loss of $165 million.

On April 3, 2017 it emerged from bankruptcy and started trading on the NYSE with a ticker symbol of BTU.

In 2018, Peabody announced it plans to invest $10 million in a partnership with London-based Arq, a company that is advancing technology to convert coal into oil products.