Blackhawk Mining LLC, the Lexington, Ky.-based coal-mining company that had to delay its planned exit from bankruptcy due to a drop in coal prices, found a buyer for some of its mineral reserves, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Privately owned Blackhawk said yesterday that it would sell some of its mineral reserves to Arch Coal Inc. for more than $52 million. Blackhawk will use proceeds from the sale to pay down its term loan. After filing for bankruptcy in July, Blackhawk encountered an unexpected decline in coal prices and had to rework its restructuring plan to obtain additional financing while slashing the amount of debt the company will have when it exits bankruptcy protection. Now the company expects to leave bankruptcy by the end of the month. Blackhawk’s detour in bankruptcy reflects the dire state of the industry as the recent drop in coal prices worsens the hardships from an ongoing shift in the power sector away from coal and toward natural gas and renewable fuels. More than half a dozen coal companies, including Blackhawk, have filed for bankruptcy over the past year. The company now plans to emerge from bankruptcy with $175 million in debt, down from $465 million in an earlier restructuring plan. Blackhawk is also seeking court approval to borrow an additional $35 million in bankruptcy loans to finance a longer stay in bankruptcy, court filings show.
