The modified production plan is designed to lower costs, improve cash flows and increase productivity, while preserving high-quality hard-coking coal reserves for sales when markets improve, the company said.

Over the next month, the mine is expected to transition to one production shift per day, with associated employee and contractor reductions of 35% to 40%.

Peabody expects production at the mine to decline to about 2.3 million tonnes this year from originally projected 2015 production levels of 3.0Mt.

“Peabody continues to meet customer commitments in the current environment with reduced production levels in line with contracted sales,” it said.

“The initiative is one of a range of measures the company is taking to improve the business across four key areas of management emphasis: operational, SG&A, financial and portfolio.”

A recent presentation from Peabody revealed that this mining giant had made “aggressive Australian cost reduction efforts”

In this regard Peabody said it had completed operating conversions with more than 95% of its Australian production now falling under the owner-operator model.

Peabody also said it was evaluating options at its Burton mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin with mining operator contract there expiring in mid-2016.

The coal producer noted that the Australian cost per tonne across its metallurgical and thermal coal operations had fallen from $78/t in 2012 to a projected $62-64/t in 2015.