Coal miner Peabody
Energy, rebuffed in a recent acquisition bid in Australia, still wants to
expand there to meet Asian demand and is also pursuing opportunities in
Mongolia, Chief Executive Officer Gregory Boyce has said. He said his company
was looking at expanding into Mongolia, which is rich in untapped mineral and
coal resources. “China, Mongolia and India are our focus,” Mr. Boyce
said.

Peabody now has a joint venture in Mongolia. Boyce said Mongolia”s proximity to
China, with its huge demand for steel-making metallurgical, or coking, coal was
the key to the investment. “Met (metallurgical) coal is at the surface,
and mining risks are low,” he said. “We see Mongolia as a place we
want to be.”