The world’s largest coal company, the , warned on Wednesday that it might have to file for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to keep up with its debt payments.

In , Peabody said waning demand for coal around the world and stiffer regulations had raised “substantial doubt” about whether the company could continue to operate outside bankruptcy.

Analysts have been warning for months that Peabody could follow the nation’s other large coal companies, like Arch Coal, Alpha Natural Resources and the Patriot Coal Corporation, into bankruptcy. The United States coal industry has been pummeled by tighter regulations and competition from cheaper sources of fuel, mostly notably .

Peabody, which owns and operates coal mines across the United States and Australia, has been trying for weeks to negotiate a deal with its creditors to ease some of its debt payments. But those talks have failed to produce a deal, leaving Peabody with few options outside a bankruptcy filing, analysts say.

Based in St. Louis, Peabody traces its history to 1883, when coal was becoming the nation’s dominant energy source. It expanded into Australia in 2011 with the purchase of two coal companies there.

The coal industry has been struggling for many years, but its problems have intensified recently with the slowdown in the demand from the emerging markets and the slump in natural gas prices in the United States.

With revenue falling and debt costs rising, coal companies, which are large employers in parts of West Virginia, Wyoming and Utah, have been scrambling to stay solvent.

Peabody said that last month it reached the limit on its revolving credit line, borrowing the maximum of $945 million.

Peabody said it would not make roughly $71 million of interest payments that were due on Wednesday. The company has a 30-day grace period to either make the payment or be found in default.

Lenders to the coal industry are taking staggering losses on their investments. Some debt is trading at just pennies on the dollar.

Peabody’s shares, which have been trending up in recent weeks on hopes that the company might be able to sell some assets and reach a deal with creditors, fell as much as 43 percent on Wednesday.