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Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
The accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of NACCO Industries, Inc.® (“NACCO” or the "Company"). NACCO brings natural resources to life by delivering aggregates, minerals, reliable fuels and environmental solutions through its robust portfolio of NACCO Natural Resources businesses. The Company operates under three business segments: Coal Mining, North American Mining ("NAMining") and Minerals Management. The Coal Mining segment operates surface coal mines for power generation companies and an activated carbon producer. The NAMining segment is a trusted mining partner for producers of aggregates, lithium and other minerals. The Minerals Management segment promotes the development of mineral interests. In addition, Mitigation Resources of North America® provides stream and wetland mitigation solutions.

The Company also has unallocated items not directly attributable to a reportable segment. Intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. See Note 8 to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of segment reporting.

The Company’s operating segments are further described below:

Coal Mining Segment
The Coal Mining segment, operating as The North American Coal Corporation® ("NACoal"), operates surface coal mines under long-term contracts with power generation companies and an activated carbon producer pursuant to a service-based business model. Coal is surface-mined in North Dakota, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Each mine is fully integrated with its customer's operations.

During the six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company's operating coal mines were: Bisti Fuels Company, LLC (“Bisti”), The Coteau Properties Company (“Coteau”), Coyote Creek Mining Company, LLC (“Coyote Creek”), Demery Resources Company, LLC (“Demery”), The Falkirk Mining Company (“Falkirk”), Mississippi Lignite Mining Company (“MLMC”) and The Sabine Mining Company (“Sabine”).

Falkirk operates the Falkirk Mine in North Dakota. Falkirk is the sole supplier of lignite coal to the Coal Creek Station power plant pursuant to a contract under which Falkirk also supplies approximately 0.3 million tons of lignite coal per year to Spiritwood Station power plant. Coal Creek Station and Spiritwood Station are owned by Great River Energy (“GRE”). In May 2020, GRE announced its intent to sell or retire Coal Creek Station in the second half of 2022 and modify Spiritwood Station to be fueled by natural gas.

On June 30, 2021, GRE entered into an agreement to sell Coal Creek Station and the adjacent high-voltage direct current transmission line to Bismarck, North Dakota-based Rainbow Energy Center, LLC (“Rainbow Energy”) and its affiliates. The transaction between GRE and Rainbow Energy is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory approvals associated with the sale of Coal Creek Station and the related transmission assets and the posting of a performance bond related to final mine reclamation. If the conditions are satisfied, the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2021.

Upon completion of the sale of Coal Creek Station, the existing Coal Sales Agreement, the existing Mortgage and Security Agreement and the existing Option Agreement between GRE and Falkirk will be terminated. Falkirk and GRE have entered into a termination and release of claims agreement. Upon completion of the sale of Coal Creek Station, GRE will pay Falkirk $14.0 million in cash, as well as transfer ownership of an office building located in Bismarck, North Dakota, and convey membership units in Midwest AgEnergy to NACoal. NACCO currently holds a $5.0 million investment in Midwest AgEnergy, which operates two ethanol facilities in North Dakota.

If GRE's efforts to sell the power plant are successful, a new Coal Sales Agreement (“CSA”) between Falkirk and Rainbow Energy will become effective and Falkirk will begin supplying all coal requirements of Coal Creek Station concurrent with Rainbow Energy’s acquisition of the power plant. Falkirk will no longer make any coal deliveries to GRE’s Spiritwood Station. Falkirk will be paid a management fee and Rainbow Energy will be responsible for funding all mine operating costs and directly or indirectly providing all of the capital required to operate the mine. The CSA specifies that Falkirk will perform final mine reclamation, which will be funded in its entirety by Rainbow Energy. The initial production period is expected to run ten
years from the effective date of the CSA, but the CSA may be extended or terminated early under certain circumstances. If Rainbow Energy terminates the CSA and closes Coal Creek Station before 2027, Falkirk will be entitled to an additional payment from GRE under the terms of the termination and release of claims agreement. The additional payment amount ranges from $8 million if the closure occurs before 2024 to $2 million if the closure occurs in 2026. To support the transfer to new ownership, Falkirk has agreed to a reduction in the current per ton management fee from the effective date of the new CSA through May 31, 2024. After May 31, 2024, the per ton management fee increases to a higher base in line with current fee levels, and thereafter adjusts annually according to specific indices which track broad measures of U.S. inflation.

Bisti supplies the Four Corners Power Plant through its contract mining agreement with the Navajo Transitional Energy Company ("NTEC"). On June 17, 2021, the Company received notification that the contract mining agreement between Bisti and NTEC will be terminated effective September 30, 2021. As required under the agreement, it is anticipated NTEC will pay NACCO a termination fee of approximately $10 million. NTEC will assume control and responsibility for operation of the Navajo Mine upon termination of the contract mining agreement. All liabilities, including mine reclamation, are the responsibility of NTEC.

Sabine operates the Sabine Mine in Texas. All production from Sabine is delivered to Southwestern Electric Power Company's (“SWEPCO”) Henry W. Pirkey Plant (the “Pirkey Plant”). SWEPCO is an American Electric Power (“AEP”) company. In November 2020, AEP announced it intends to retire the Pirkey Plant in 2023. SWEPCO expects deliveries from Sabine to continue until the first quarter of 2023 at which time Sabine expects to begin final reclamation. Funding for mine reclamation is the responsibility of SWEPCO.

Coteau operates the Freedom Mine in North Dakota. All coal production from the Freedom Mine is delivered to Basin Electric Power Cooperative (“Basin Electric”). Basin Electric utilizes the coal at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant (the “Synfuels Plant”), Antelope Valley Station and Leland Olds Station. The Synfuels Plant is a coal gasification plant that manufactures synthetic natural gas and produces fertilizers, solvents, phenol, carbon dioxide, and other chemical products for sale. In November 2020, Basin Electric informed Coteau that it is considering changes that may result in modifications to its Synfuels Plant that could potentially reduce or eliminate coal requirements at the Synfuels Plant beginning in 2026. Basin Electric indicated that if it decides to proceed with any changes that could reduce or eliminate the use of coal, the feedstock change is not expected to occur before 2026. In June 2021, Basin Electric announced it was also evaluating the Synfuels Plant for possible sale.

At all operating coal mines other than MLMC, the Company is paid a management fee per ton of coal or heating unit (MMBtu) delivered. Each contract specifies the indices and mechanics by which fees change over time, generally in line with broad measures of U.S. inflation. The customers are responsible for funding all mine operating costs, including final mine reclamation, and directly or indirectly provide all of the capital required to build and operate the mine. This contract structure eliminates exposure to spot coal market price fluctuations while providing steady income and cash flow with minimal capital investment. Other than at Coyote Creek, debt financing provided by or supported by the customers is without recourse to NACCO and NACoal. See Note 6 for further discussion of Coyote Creek's guarantees.

All operating coal mines other than MLMC meet the definition of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). In each case, NACCO is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE as it does not exercise financial control; therefore, NACCO does not consolidate the results of these operations within its financial statements. Instead, these contracts are accounted for as equity method investments. The income before income taxes associated with these VIEs is reported as Earnings of unconsolidated operations on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and the Company’s investment is reported on the line Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The mines that meet the definition of a VIE are referred to collectively as the “Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.” For tax purposes, the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries are included within the NACCO consolidated U.S. tax return; therefore, the income tax expense line on the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations includes income taxes related to these entities. See Note 6 for further information on the Unconsolidated Subsidiaries.

The MLMC contract is the only operating coal contract in which the Company is responsible for all operating costs, capital requirements and final mine reclamation; therefore, MLMC is consolidated within NACCO’s financial statements. MLMC sells coal to its customer at a contractually agreed-upon price which adjusts monthly, primarily based on changes in the level of established indices which reflect general U.S. inflation rates.

Caddo Creek Resources Company, LLC (“Caddo Creek”) ceased all mining and delivery of lignite and commenced mine reclamation in the fourth quarter of 2020. The financial results of Caddo Creek are consolidated within NACCO's financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2021. Prior to entering into reclamation, Caddo Creek met the definition of a VIE; therefore, the financial results of Caddo Creek are reported as Earnings of unconsolidated operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. The reclamation at Caddo Creek is expected to be substantially complete by June 30, 2022.
NAMining Segment
The NAMining segment provides value-added contract mining and other services for producers of aggregates, lithium and other minerals. The segment is a primary platform for the Company’s growth and diversification of mining activities outside of the coal industry. NAMining provides contract mining services for independently owned mines and quarries, creating value for its customers by performing the mining aspects of its customers’ operations. This allows customers to focus on their areas of expertise: materials handling and processing, product sales and distribution. NAMining operates primarily at limestone quarries in Florida, but is focused on expanding outside of Florida, mining materials other than limestone and expanding the scope of mining operations provided to its customers. In the second quarter of 2021, NAMining entered into a one-year mining services contract with an existing customer for a sand and gravel quarry in Indiana. In addition, NAMining will serve as exclusive contract miner for the Thacker Pass lithium project in northern Nevada.

NAMining utilizes both fixed price and management fee contract structures. Certain of the entities within the NAMining segment are VIEs and are accounted for under the equity method as Unconsolidated Subsidiaries. See Note 6 for further discussion.

Minerals Management Segment
The Minerals Management segment derives income primarily by leasing its royalty and mineral interests to third-party exploration and production companies, and, to a lesser extent, other mining companies, granting them the rights to explore, develop, mine, produce, market and sell gas, oil, and coal in exchange for royalty payments based on the lessees' sales of those minerals. During 2021 and 2020, the Minerals Management segment acquired mineral interests, primarily in the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas and intends to make future acquisitions of mineral and royalty interests that meet the Company’s acquisition criteria as part of its growth strategy.

In the second quarter of 2021, the Minerals Management segment, through its Catapult Mineral Partners (“Catapult”) business, acquired a combination of mineral and overriding royalty interests in the Eagle Ford Basin, which includes approximately 14.1 thousand gross acres and 1.7 thousand net royalty acres, for $4.7 million. Under the terms of the transaction, Catapult will make additional payments for each additional well developed on the acquired assets at the end of 2021 and 2022 of up to a maximum of $0.6 million per year, or an additional $1.2 million of additional payments in total. Catapult also completed a small acquisition of royalty interests in the Delaware Basin in the second quarter of 2021 for a purchase price of $0.3 million.

The Company’s legacy royalty and mineral interests are located in Ohio (Utica and Marcellus shale natural gas), Louisiana (Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley formation natural gas), Texas (Cotton Valley and Austin Chalk formation natural gas), Mississippi (coal), Pennsylvania (coal, coalbed methane and Marcellus shale natural gas), Alabama (coal and coalbed methane and natural gas) and North Dakota (coal, oil and natural gas). The majority of the Company’s legacy reserves were acquired as part of its historical coal mining operations. Specialized employees in the Minerals Management segment also provide surface and mineral acquisition and lease maintenance services related to Company operations.

Basis of Presentation: These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position of the Company at June 30, 2021, the results of its operations, comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020 have been included. These Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The balance sheet at December 31, 2020 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information or notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.

Certain amounts in prior period Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been reclassified to conform to the current period's presentation.