Item 8.01 Other Events.
On March 4, 2020, in response to the potential effects of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission")
issued an order (the "Original Order") pursuant to its authority under Section
36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") granting
exemptions from certain provisions of that Act and the rules thereunder related
to the reporting and proxy delivery requirements for certain public companies,
subject to certain conditions. The Commission monitored the effects of COVID-19
and on March 25, 2020 modified the exemptions in light of its current
understanding of the circumstances. For this reason and the reasons stated in
the Original Order, the Commission found that modifying the exemptions to cover
filings due on or before July 1, 2020, pursuant to its authority under Section
36 the Exchange Act, is appropriate in the public interest and consistent with
the protection of investors.
Rhino Resource Partners LP (the "Partnership") is relying on the order issued by
the Commission to extend the May 15, 2020 required filing date of its first
quarter 2020 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The effects of COVID-19 have limited
the abilities of the Partnership's employees to conduct normal business
activities, including the preparation and review of the Partnership's first
quarter 2020 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. The Partnership is following the
recommendations of governmental health authorities to minimize exposure risk for
its employees, including having some employees work remotely. As a result of the
implementation of such measures and due to the limited size of the Partnership's
accounting staff, the Partnership has experienced difficulties in completing the
normal financial closing processes and internal reviews that are required to
timely file its first quarter 2020 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.The Partnership
expects to file its first quarter 2020 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q on or
before June 29, 2020.
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Partnership will be including the
following Risk Factor in the Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31,
2020, as may be updated to reflect subsequent events impacting the Partnership:
Our results of operations will be negatively impacted by the coronavirus
pandemic.
To date, the current and anticipated economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
including the actions of governments and countries here in the United States and
around the world designed to decrease the spread of the virus, have caused
significant declines in demand for met and steam coal. In response to this
reduced demand and to the significant health threats to our employees, on March
20, 2020, we temporarily idled production at several of our mines. We will
continue to monitor conditions to ensure the health and welfare of our
employees. We do not expect the idling of the coal production activities will
affect our ability to fulfill current customer commitments, as loading and
shipping crews will remain in place to ship coal from existing inventories.
If the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the significant decrease in
economic activity, continue for an extended period of time or worsen, it could
further reduce the demand for met and steam coal, which would have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of
operations.
In addition, while our business operations have not been significantly
restricted by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic from various governmental
agencies, which exempt or exclude essential critical infrastructure businesses
from various restrictions they impose (other than encouraging remote work where
possible), the spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices
(including requiring remote working where possible, restricting employee travel
and congregation of onsite personnel, and increased frequency of cleaning
schedules), and we may take further actions as may be required by government
authorities or that we determine are in the best interests of our employees,
customers or other stakeholders or the communities in which we operate. Such
measures may disrupt our normal operations, and there is no certainty that such
measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19 or will not
adversely impact our business or results of operations.
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