Peabody leases coal reserves, stock up

(Reuters) - Coal miner Peabody Energy Corp (BTU.N) said on Friday it has leased 721 million tons of ultra-low-sulfur coal reserves adjacent to its North Antelope Rochelle Mine in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming.

The company's shares rose over 3 percent to $24.07 in pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Peabody said it submitted a bid of $1.10 per mineable ton for control of the North Porcupine reserve area to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which awarded the lease following a sealed-bid auction.

Peabody has leased more than 1.1 billion tons of reserves adjacent to North Antelope Rochelle in recent months, and the company controls 4 billion tons of coal reserves in the region.

(Reporting By Steve James; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)