Navarre joined the company in 1993 and has been the president of Peabody Americas since March of this year. He thanked Boyce and the board of directors for their leadership and support.

He will continue to assist the company in a consulting role.

Meintjes joined Peabody, the world’s largest private sector coal company, in 2007 and most recently served as group executive of Midwest and Colorado operations.

He also served in executive roles in operations improvement and engineering and has extensive senior operational, strategy, continuous improvement and information technology experience with mining companies in Africa and Australia, including serving as executive director and board member of the South African company Kumba Resources.

Meintjes also holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Johannesburg University and has completed graduate coursework from the Wharton School of Business.

“We are pleased to name Charles as acting head of Peabody Americas while a comprehensive replacement search is conducted,” Peabody chairman and chief executive officer Gregory H Boyce said.

“We thank Rick for his dedication and key contribution to Peabody during the time the company expanded internationally and wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Peabody Energy serves metallurgical and thermal coal customers in more than 25 countries.