Cloud Peak Energy Inc (CLD)

Cloud Peak Energy Inc. ("CPE") was incorporated in Delaware in July 2008 in anticipation of an initial public offering. The Company completed its initial public offering on November 9, 2009. It is a producer of coal in the U.S. and in the Powder River Basin, or PRB, based on 2008 coal production. It operates some of the safest mines in the industry and solely in the PRB, the lowest cost coal producing region of the major coal producing regions in the U.S., and operates two of the five largest coal mines in the region and in the U.S. Its operations include three wholly-owned surface coal mines, two of which are in Wyoming and one in Montana. It also owns 50% interests in a fourth surface coal mine in Montana. The Company produces sub-bituminous steam coal with low sulfur content and sells its coal mainly to domestic electric utilities. Steam coal is consumed by electric utilities and industrial customers as fuel for electricity generation. Cloud Peak Energy Resources LLC, or CPE LLC, would own Rio Tinto America's western U.S. coal business, except for the Colowyo coal mine in Colorado. The Company would be a holding Company that manages CPE LLC, and its only business and sole asset would be its managing member interest in CPE LLC. Supplies used in its business include petroleum-based fuels, explosives, tires, steel and other raw materials as well as spare parts and other consumables used in the mining process. The Company competes directly with all coal producers and indirectly with other energy producers throughout the U.S. The coal mining industry is subject to increasingly strict regulation by federal, state and local authorities with respect to environmental matters.