Natural Resource Partners announced that it has completed the fifth acquisition of coal reserves at the Deer Run mine near Hillsboro, Illinois for USD 40 million from Colt LLC, an affiliate of the Cline Group.

The acquisition was funded with cash. NRP has paid USD 215 million of the USD 255 million slated for the acquisition of approximately 200 million tons of reserves. The final acquisition for USD 40 million will be associated with the completion of the first pass of the longwall, currently scheduled for August 2012.