Impairment Charges and Mine Closure Costs

The following table summarizes the amounts reflected on the line "Asset impairment and mine closure costs" in the consolidated statements of operations:



	Year Ended December 31,
Description	2015			2014		2013
	(In thousands)
Coal lands and mineral rights	$	2,210,488		$	—	$	79,094
Plant and equipment	199,107			1,512		36,296
Deferred development	159,474			—		13,451
Prepaid royalties	41,990			15,356		1,104
Equity investments	21,325			—		28,947
Notes receivable	—			—		49,203
Inventories	66			—		12,765
Other	(4,147		)	7,245		19
Total	$	2,628,303		$	24,113	$	220,879

2015 Impairment Charges

In 2015, as a result of the continued deterioration in thermal and metallurgical coal markets and projections for a muted pricing recovery, certain of the Company’s mine complexes have incurred and are expected to continue to incur operating losses. The Company determined that the further weakening of the pricing environment in the last half of the year and the projected operating losses represent indicators of impairment with respect to certain of its long-lived assets or assets groups. Using current pricing expectations which reflect marketplace participant assumptions, life of mine cash flows were used to determine if the undiscounted cash flows exceed the current asset values for certain operating complexes in the Company’s Appalachia segment. For multiple operating complexes, the undiscounted cash flows did not exceed the carrying value of the long-lived assets. Discounted cash flows were utilized to reduce the carrying value of those assets to fair value. The discount rate used reflects the current financial difficulties present in the commodities sector in general and coal mining specifically; the perceived risk of financing coal mining in light of industry defaults; and the lack of an active market for buying or selling coal mining assets. Additionally, the Company determined that the current market conditions represent an indicator of impairment for certain undeveloped coal properties that were acquired in times of significantly higher coal prices. Current prices and the significant capital outlay that would be required to develop these reserves indicate that the carrying value is not recoverable. As a result the Company recorded a $2.6 billion asset impairment charge in the last two quarters of 2015 of which $2.1 billion was recorded during the third quarter and the remaining $0.5 billion was recorded in the fourth quarter. Of the total charge. $2.2 billion was recorded to the Company's Appalachia segment, with the remaining $0.4 billion to the Company's Other operating segment. There is no fair value remaining related to the impaired assets.

During the second quarter of 2015, the Company recorded $19.1 million to "Asset impairment and mine closure costs" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. An impairment charge of $12.2 million relates to the portion of an advance royalty balance on a reserve base mined at the Company's Mountain Laurel, Spruce and Briar Branch operations that will not be recouped based on latest estimates of sales volume and pricing through the March 2017 recoupment period. Additionally, the company recorded a $5.6 million impairment charge related to the closure of a higher-cost mining complex serving the metallurgical coal markets.

2014 Impairment Charges

During the Company's annual budgeting process for 2015 (performed in the fall of 2014), a review of forecasted revenues indicated that the remaining balance of advance royalty payments made on a reserve base supplying the Company's Mountain Laurel, Spruce Mine and Briar Branch operations would not be recoupable against future royalties payments. Under the lease, any unrecouped advance payment balance at March 31, 2017 will be forfeited by the Company. Based on estimates of sales volumes and pricing through the end of the recoupment period, an impairment charge was recorded during the fourth quarter of 2014 for $15.4 million of the remaining $48.0 million balance that would not be recouped.

In response to weak metallurgical coal markets the Company idled a higher-cost mining complex in the third quarter of 2014 in order to concentrate on metallurgical coal production from its lowest-cost and highest-margin operations. Closure charges of $5.1 million were recognized during the third quarter of 2014 relating to the idling.

2013 Impairment Charges

As a result of the weak thermal coal markets in Appalachia, the Company assessed in the third quarter of 2013 whether the carrying values of certain assets were recoverable through future cash flows. The Company determined that the carrying amounts of certain assets associated with the Hazard mining complex in Kentucky and the Company's ADDCAR subsidiary, which manufactures and sells its patented highwall mining system, could not be recovered through future cash flows expected to be generated from use of the assets and their ultimate disposal.

The assets' fair values were determined based on projections of cash flows to be generated from use of the assets and their ultimate disposal including estimates relating to market demand, coal prices, production costs and mine plans, and recovery value of the assets. An impairment charge of $142.8 million was recognized to adjust the carrying value of the assets to their fair value of $71.3 million.

During 2013, the Company also recognized other-than-temporary impairment charges related to equity method investments. See further discussion in Note 10, "Equity Method Investments and Membership Interests in Joint Ventures."

Due to the unobservable inputs within the modeling used to determine fair market value within the Company's asset impairment process, the fair value would be considered level 3 within the fair value hierarchy.