OREANDA-NEWS. Natural Resource Partners (NRP) aims to complete an asset sale by the end of the first quarter of 2016 as part of a plan to cut debt put forth in April.

Company executives speaking at Cowen's 6th Annual Global Metals and Mining Conference in New York City today declined to get more specific and emphasized the first quarter target is a soft estimate intended to show investors it is in the process of executing its plan.

NRP said last month it had begun selling some assets as part of a program it disclosed in April to cut debt in the face of weaker commodity markets. The land owner's royalty revenue has declined as leaseholders cut production because of weak sales and low prices.

Just under half of NRP's business portfolio is coal properties. The rest are oil, gas, aggregates and industrial minerals.

Since announcing in April its intent to cut its debt, NRP has cut its dividend payout by 87pc, paid off a 75mn term loan, written down $627mn in assets and looked at opportunities to reduce overhead, especially in its coal operations, executives said today.

The recent wave of coal company bankruptcies and mergers has not hurt the company, executives said today. NRP collected all amounts due it following Patriot Coal's bankruptcy filing and subsequent asset sale, and it expects to do the same after Alpha Natural Resources completes its Chapter 11 restructuring.

Company results have also been buffered by NRP's holdings in lower-cost basins, which tend to fare better than higher-cost operations in a deteriorating coal market. The Illinois basin and Powder River basin comprise 48pc of NRP's coal operations.