Insiders ranked by realized 90-day signed return on their open-market trades at Ramaco Resources, Inc.. Minimum 3 scored trades. Returns are signed - a sale followed by a rally counts against the insider.
Real-time Form 4 intelligence. Smarter insider tracking.
YoY shift: Neutral
Year-over-year tone shift - average net-tone change across Risk Factors and MD&A vs the prior 10-K. This filing is -0.14pp more bearish than last year's.
Why YoY instead of absolute: the LM lexicon has ~6.6× more negative words than positive (legal/risk-disclosure language is heavy on hedging), so every 10-K reads bearish on raw tone. Year-over-year change strips that bias and surfaces the actual shift in management's framing.
Tone shift by section
The two components the gauge averages: how Risk Factors and MD&A each shifted in net tone versus last year's 10-K. The headline above is their average, so a green needle over a soft section just means the other section carried it.
Risk Factors
+0.12pp
Flat
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
MD&A
-0.40pp
Lean -
Net-tone change vs last year's 10-K.
Per-snippet highlights
Sentence-level sentiment highlighting with category and subcategory filters is coming once the snippet-scoring pipeline lands. For now, dig into the actual section text on the Sections tab.
Language change vs prior 10-K
Risk Factors (Item 1A) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
critical+25
adversely+14
difficult+4
volatility+4
failure+3
Positive rising
able+6
successfully+6
benefit+3
advantages+3
greater+2
Risk Factors (Item 1A)
32,034 words
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business involves certain risks and uncertainties. The following is a description of significant risks that might cause our future financial condition or results of operations to differ materially from those expected. In addition to the risks and uncertainties described below, we may face other risks and uncertainties, some of which may be unknown to us and some of which we may deem immaterial. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. A summary of our risk factors is as follows:
Our growth prospects may be adversely affected by fluctuations in demand for, and prices of, rare earth elements and critical minerals.
We do not currently have rare earth elements or critical mineral reserves, and our growth prospects may be adversely affected if we are unable to successfully develop the Brook Mine into a commercial scale mine.
An increase in the global supply of rare earth element products, dumping, predatory pricing and other anti-competitive tactics taken by our competitors may materially and affect our growth prospects and the price of our common stock.
Language change vs prior 10-K
MD&A (Item 7) - words with the biggest YoY frequency increase
Negative rising
critical+35
loss+9
idling+2
restated+1
delays+1
Positive rising
benefit+2
advancement+2
advancing+2
satisfy+1
opportunities+1
MD&A (Item 7)
10,763 words
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion is intended to assist you in understanding our results of operations and our present financial condition and contains forward-looking statements that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. The forward-looking statements are dependent upon events, risks and uncertainties that may be outside our control. We caution you that our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report, particularly in the “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” all of which are difficult to predict. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed may not occur. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Overview
We are a dual platform critical mineral company that is both an operator and developer of high-quality, low-cost metallurgical coal in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia, and a developing producer of coal, rare earth and critical minerals in Wyoming. Our metallurgical coal development portfolio primarily includes the following properties: Elk Creek, Berwind, Knox Creek, and Maben. We believe each of these properties possesses geologic and logistical that make our coal among the lowest delivered-cost U.S. metallurgical coal to our domestic customer base, North American blast furnace steel mills and coke plants, as well as to international metallurgical coal consumers. In mid-2025, we initiated development of our rare earth element and mineral operations near Sheridan, Wyoming (the “Brook Mine”). The Brook Mine initially produced representative ore material to serve as feedstock for testing, with the goal of demonstrating the viability of processing rare earth elements and minerals at a full-scale commercial facility and ultimately establishing mineral reserves and resources. Contiguous to the Brook Mine, the Company operates a carbon research facility related to the production of advanced carbon products and materials from coal.
Consolidation of the rare earth elements and critical minerals industry may result in increased competition.
Certain of our properties have not yet been fully developed into producing coal mines and, if we experience any development delays or cost increases or are unable to complete the construction of our facilities, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We have customer concentration, so the loss of, or significant reduction in, purchases by our largest coal customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our customer base is highly dependent on the steel industry.
We do not enter into long-term coal sales contracts and as a result we are exposed to fluctuations in market pricing.
The failure to access coal preparation facilities may have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce coal for our prospective customers and to meet quality specifications.
We face uncertainties in estimating our economically recoverable coal reserves, and inaccuracies in our estimates could result in lower-than-expected revenues, higher than expected costs and decreased profitability.
Our inability to acquire additional coal reserves that are economically recoverable may have a material adverse effect on our future profitability.
The availability and reliability of transportation facilities and fluctuations in transportation costs could affect the demand for our coal or impair our ability to supply coal to prospective customers.
Any significant downtime of our major pieces of mining equipment, including any preparation plants, could impair our ability to supply coal to prospective customers and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
Certain provisions in typical long-term sales contracts provide limited protection during adverse economic conditions, which may eventually result in economic penalties to us or permit the customer to terminate the contract. Furthermore, our ability to collect payments from prospective customers could be impaired if their creditworthiness declines or if they fail to honor their contracts with us.
To maintain and grow our business, we will be required to make substantial capital expenditures. If we are unable to obtain needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms, we may have to curtail our operations and delay our construction and growth plans, which may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
We may not be able to obtain equipment, parts and supplies in a timely manner, in sufficient quantities or at reasonable costs to support our coal mining and transportation operations.
Our operations could be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain required financial assurance, or if the costs of financial assurance increase materially.
Defects in title or loss of any leasehold interests in our properties could limit our ability to conduct mining operations on these properties or result in significant unanticipated costs.
A shortage of skilled labor in the mining industry could pose a risk to achievingimproved labor productivity, which could adversely affect our profitability.
We and our significant stockholders are subject to the Applicant Violator System.
The enactment of legislative and regulatory measures could adversely affect our mining operations or cost structure or our customers’ ability to use coal, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Table of Contents
Current and future laws, regulations and other legal requirements relating to protection of the environment and natural resources may increase our costs of doing business and may restrict our coal operations.
Our operations may impact the environment or cause exposure to hazardous substances, and our properties may have environmental contamination, which could expose us to significant costs and liabilities.
We must obtain, maintain, and renew governmental permits and approvals for mining operations, which can be a costly and time-consuming process and result in restrictions on our operations.
Federal or state regulatory agencies have the authority to order certain of our mines to be closed under certain circumstances, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to meet customer demands.
Our customers are subject to extensive existing and future laws, regulations and other legal requirements relating to protection of the environment, which could negatively impact our business and the market for our products.
Our mines are subject to stringent federal and state safety regulations that increase our cost of doing business at active operations and may place restrictions on our methods of operation. In addition, government inspectors in certain circumstances may have the ability to order our operations to be shut down based on safety considerations.
We have reclamation, mine closing, and related environmental obligations under the SMCRA. If the assumptions underlying our accruals are inaccurate, we could be required to expend greater amounts than anticipated.
Our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock may be limited by the amount of cash we generate from operations following the payment of fees and expenses, by restrictions in debt instruments and by additional factors unrelated to our profitability.
Certain of our directors have significant duties with, and spend significant time serving, entities that may compete with us in seeking acquisitions and business opportunities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating time or pursuing business opportunities.
Holders of Class B common stock are common stockholders of the Company and, therefore, are subject to risks associated with an investment in the Company as a whole, even if the holder does not own Class A common stock.
Our Board’s ability to reattribute businesses, assets, and expenses between Class A and Class B common stock may make it difficult to assess the future prospects of a class of common stock based on past performance.
The market price of Class B common stock may not reflect performance of CORE attributed to it, as we intend.
We may not pay dividends equally or at all on our classes of common stock.
Our tracking stock capital structure could create conflicts of interest, and our Board may make decisions that could adversely affect only the holders of one class of our common stock.
The terms of the indentures governing our Senior Notes and the agreements and instruments governing our other indebtedness, including the Credit Agreement, and surety bonding obligations impose restrictions that may limit our operating and financial flexibility.
We may be able to incur substantially more debt, which could have important consequences to you.
Our future indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and ability to meet our payment obligations under the Senior Notes and our other debt.
The Senior Notes are unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness that we currently have or that we may incur in the future and rank pari passu with, which means equal to, all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by us and our general liabilities.
Our subsidiaries conduct the substantial majority of our operations and own our operating assets.
The indentures under which the Senior Notes were issued contain limited protection for holders of the Senior Notes.
An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the value of the Senior Notes.
If we default on obligations to pay other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Senior Notes.
A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of a credit rating assigned by a rating agency to us or the Senior Notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Senior Notes to decline significantly.
Credit ratings for the Senior Notes could at any time be revised downward or withdrawn entirely at the discretion of the issuing rating agency.
The conditional conversion feature of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
The accounting method for the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes could adversely affect our reported financial condition and results.
Provisions in the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and the Indenture governing the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
The capped call transactions may affect the value of 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and Class A common stock.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call transactions.
Table of Contents
Risks Related to Our Business
Our growth prospects may be adversely affected by fluctuations in demand for, and prices of, rare earth elements and critical minerals.
Changes in the level of demand for, and the market price of (including taxes and other tariffs and fees imposed upon) rare earth elements and critical minerals could significantly affect our growth prospects, which depend in large part on our ability to successfully develop the Brook Mine into a producing mine. As is the case with any mining asset that is not yet in commercial production, there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop the Brook Mine into a commercial scale mine. In particular, the prices for rare earth elements and critical minerals may fluctuate and are likely to be affected by numerous factors beyond our control such as interest rates, exchange rates, taxes, inflation, fluctuation in the relative value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, shipping and other transportation and logistics costs, global and regional supply and demand for rare earth minerals and products, potential industry trends and the political and economic conditions of countries that produce and procure rare earth elements and critical minerals. In addition, a future change in the U.S. federal administration could result in changing policies and priorities, including with respect to trade policy and tariffs, taxes and regulation generally, all of which may have a detrimental impact on the demand for rare earth elements and critical minerals and related products.
Furthermore, supply side factors may have a significant influence on price volatility for rare earth elements and critical minerals. Supply of rare earth elements and critical minerals is currently dominated by Chinese producers. The Chinese Central Government regulates production via export bans, quotas and looser environmental standards compared to other countries, and, to a lesser extent, regulation of imports, and has and may continue to change such export bans, production quotas, environmental standards, and import regulations. Over the past few years, there has been significant restructuring of the Chinese market in line with Chinese Central Government policy; however, periods of over-supply or speculative trading of rare earth elements and critical minerals can lead to significant fluctuations in the market price of such products. A prolonged or significant economic contraction in the U.S., China, or worldwide could put downward pressure on market prices of rare earth elements and critical minerals. Protracted periods of low prices for rare earth elements and critical minerals could significantly impact our growth prospects. Demand for rare earth elements and critical minerals may be impacted by demand for downstream products such as hybrid and electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics, medical equipment, military equipment and other high-growth, advanced motion technologies, as well as demand in the general automotive and electronics industries. By contrast, extended periods of high commodity prices may create economic dislocations that may be destabilizing to rare earth elements and critical minerals supply and demand and ultimately to the broader markets. Strong rare earth elements and critical minerals prices may create economic pressure to identify or create alternate technologies that ultimately could depress long-term demand for rare earth minerals and products, and at the same time may incentivize development of competing mining properties.
Based on all of the above, we cannot provide assurance that mineralization can be mined or processed profitably or that we will be able to successfully commercialize our rare earth elements and critical mineral mining capabilities.
We do not currently have rare earth elements or critical mineral reserves, and our growth prospects may be adversely affected if we are unable to successfully develop the Brook Mine into a commercial scale mine.
As described in the Brook Mine – Technical Report Summary (TRS) for the Brook Mine prepared by Weir (September 17, 2025), our estimates of rare earth elements and critical minerals are reported as in-place inferred resources. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not meet the threshold for reserve modifying factors, such as estimated economic viability, that would allow for conversion to mineral reserves. There is no certainty that any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves in the future. Rare earth elements and critical minerals are a new initiative for us and, as such, have required and will continue to require us to make significant investments to build out our rare earth element capabilities. As a new facet of our business, there are heightened risks and uncertainties, and there is no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop the Brook Mine into a commercial scale mine. We have in the past pursued alternative strategies and initiatives outside the scope of our core metallurgical mining business that have not to date resulted in meaningful returns on our investment. We have little to no demonstrated track record of commercial, operational or financial success outside of our core business, and given the
Table of Contents
uncertainties associated with rare earth elements and critical minerals and the mining thereof, we cannot assure you that this initiative will be successful.
An increase in the global supply of rare earth element products, dumping, predatory pricing and other anti-competitive tactics taken by our competitors may materially and adversely affect our growth prospects and the price of our common stock.
The pricing of and demand for rare earth element products is affected by a number of factors beyond our control, including the global macroeconomic environment and the global supply and demand for products that use rare earth elements and critical minerals. China accounts for the significant majority of global rare earth element and critical mineral production and also dominates the manufacture of metals from rare earth elements, capabilities that are not currently present at scale in the U.S. Over the past few years, there has been significant restructuring of the Chinese rare earth element production industry, further centralizing control over production by state-owned enterprises. Chinese competitors may engage in predatory pricing or other behaviors designed to inhibit competition. Any increase in the amount of rare earth element products exported from China or other nations and increased competition may adversely affect our ability to develop Brook Mine into an economically feasible producing mine or, in the future, our ability to ultimately profitably recover and sell rare earth elements and critical minerals, which could adversely impact our growth prospects and the price of our common stock. As a result of these factors, we may not be able to compete effectively against current and future competitors.
Chinese competitors may have greater financial resources, as well as other strategic advantages to operate, maintain, improve, and possibly expand their facilities. Additionally, our Chinese competitors have historically been able to produce at relatively low costs due to domestic economic and regulatory factors, including less stringent environmental and governmental regulations and lower labor and benefit costs. If we are not able to achieve consistent product quality at our anticipated costs of production, then any strategic advantages that our competitors may have over us, including, without limitation, lower labor, compliance, and production costs, could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects and the price of our common stock.
Consolidation of the rare earth elements and critical minerals industry may result in increased competition.
Some of our competitors have made, or may make, acquisitions or enter into partnerships or other strategic relationships to achieve competitive advantages. In addition, new entrants not currently considered competitors may enter our market through acquisitions, partnerships, or strategic relationships. We expect these trends to continue as demand for rare earth element materials increases. Industry consolidation may result in competitors with more compelling product offerings or greater pricing flexibility than we may have, or business practices that make it more difficult for us to compete effectively, including on the basis of price, sales, technology or supply. For example, in December 2021, China merged three state entities to establish the China Rare Earth Group Co. Ltd (“China Rare Earth Group”), that accounts for more than half of China’s heavy rare earths supplies. China Rare Earth Group has enhanced pricing power of key rare earth elements, such as dysprosium and terbium, which has brought changes to the global rare earth elements supply chain. These competitive pressures could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects and the price of our common stock.
Certain of our properties have not yet been fully developed into producing coal mines and, if we experience any development delays or cost increases or are unable to complete the construction of our facilities, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
We have not completed development plans for all of our coal properties, and do not expect to have full annual production from all of our properties until market conditions permit us to resume and complete these development plans. We expect to incur significant capital expenditures until we have completed the development of our properties. In addition, the development of our properties involves numerous regulatory, environmental, political and legal uncertainties that are beyond our control and that may cause delays in, or increase the costs associated with, their completion. Accordingly, we may not be able to complete the development of the properties on schedule, at the budgeted cost or at all, and any delays beyond the expected development periods or increased costs above those expected to be
Table of Contents
incurred could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
If we are unable to complete or are substantially delayed in completing the development of any of our properties, our business, financial condition, results of operations cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders could be adversely affected.
We have customer concentration, so the loss of, or significant reduction in, purchases by our largest coal customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We are exposed to risks associated with an increasingly concentrated customer base both domestically and globally.
There are inherent risks whenever a significant percentage of total revenues are concentrated with a limited number of customers. Revenues from our largest customers may fluctuate from time to time based on numerous factors, including market conditions, which may be outside of our control. If any of our largest customers experience declining revenues due to market, economic or competitive conditions, we could be pressured to reduce the prices that we charge for our coal, which could have an adverse effect on our margins, profitability, cash flows and financial position. If any customers were to significantly reduce their purchases of coal from us, including by failing to buy and pay for coal they committed to purchase in sales contracts, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders could be adversely affected.
See Item 8 of Part II, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data—Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Concentrations” for additional information.
Our customer base is highly dependent on the steel industry.
Substantially all of the metallurgical coal that we produce is sold to steel producers. Therefore, demand for our metallurgical coal is highly correlated to the steel industry. The steel industry’s demand for metallurgical coal is affected by a number of factors including the cyclical nature of that industry’s business, technological developments in the steel-making process and the availability of substitutes for steel such as aluminum, composites and plastics. A significant reduction in the demand for steel products would reduce the demand for metallurgical coal, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. Similarly, if less expensive ingredients could be used in substitution for metallurgical coal in the integrated steel mill process, the demand for metallurgical coal would materially decrease, which would also materially, adversely affect demand for our metallurgical coal. Our export customers include foreign steel producers who may be affected by the tariffs to the extent their production is imported into the U.S. Retaliatorythreats by foreign nations to these tariffs may limit international trade and adversely impact global economic conditions.
Deterioration in the global economic conditions in any of the industries in which prospective customers operate, a worldwide financial downturn or negative credit market conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Economic conditions in the industries in which most of our prospective customers operate, such as steelmaking and electric power generation, substantially deteriorated in recent years and reduced the demand for coal. A deterioration of economic conditions in our prospective customers’ industries could cause a decline in demand for and production of metallurgical coal. Renewed or continued weakness in the economic conditions of any of the industries served by prospective customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Table of Contents
We do not enter into long-term sales contracts for our coal, and as a result, we are exposed to fluctuations in market pricing.
Sales commitments in the metallurgical coal market are typically not long-term in nature and are generally no longer than one year in duration. Most metallurgical coal transactions in the U.S. are done on a calendar year basis, where both prices and volumes are fixed in the third and fourth quarter for the following calendar year. Globally the market is evolving to shorter term pricing. Some annual contracts have shifted to quarterly contracts and most volumes are being sold on an indexed basis, where prices are determined by averaging the leading spot indexes reported in the market and adjusting for quality. As a result, we are subject to fluctuations in market pricing. We are not protected from oversupply or market conditions where we cannot sell our coal at economic prices. Metallurgical coal has been an extremely volatile commodity over the past ten years and prices are likely to be volatile in the future. There can be no assurances we will be able to mitigate such conditions as they arise. Any sustained failure to be able to market our coal during such periods would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
The failure to access coal preparation facilities may have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce coal for our prospective customers and to meet quality specifications.
The costs of establishing the infrastructure necessary to enable us to continue to ramp up our mining operations will be significant. We have constructed preparation and loading facilities at our Elk Creek Complex and have recently undertaken expansion projects to increase the rates of processing and preparation. Our Berwind Complex will remain under development until we reach our full targeted annual coal production. Our failure to provide the necessary preparation, processing and loading facilities for our projects would have a material adverse effect on our operations.
The risks associated with the construction and operation of mines, processing plants and related infrastructure include:
the potential lack of availability or cost of skilled and unskilled labor, equipment and principal supplies needed for construction of facilities;
the need to obtain necessary environmental and other governmental approvals and permits and the timing of the receipt of those approvals and permits;
industrial accidents;
geologic mine failures, surface facility construction failures or mining, coal processing or transport equipment failures;
structural failure of an impoundment or refuse area;
natural phenomena such as inclement weather conditions, floods, droughts, rockslides and seismic activity;
unusual or unexpected geological and coal quality conditions;
potential opposition from non-governmental organizations, environmental groups or other activists, which may delay or prevent development activities; and
restrictions or regulations imposed by governmental or regulatory authorities.
The costs, timing and complexities of developing our projects may be greater than anticipated. Cost estimates may increase significantly as more detailed engineering work is completed on a project. It is common in mining operations to experience unexpected costs, problems and delays during construction, development and mine start-up.
Product alternatives or other technologies may reduce demand for our products.
Substantially all of our coal production is comprised of metallurgical coal, which commands a significant price premium over the majority of other forms of coal because of its use in blast furnaces for steel production. Metallurgical coal has specific physical and chemical properties, which are necessary for efficient blast furnace operation. Steel producers are continually investigating alternative steel production technologies with a view to reducing production costs. The steel industry has increased utilization of electric arc furnaces or pulverized coal injection processes, which reduce or eliminate the use of furnace coke, an intermediate product produced from metallurgical coal and, in turn, generally decreases the demand for metallurgical coal. Many alternative technologies are designed to use lower quality
Table of Contents
coals or other sources of carbon instead of higher cost high-quality metallurgical coal. While conventional blast furnace technology has been the most economic large-scale steel production technology for a number of years, and emergent technologies typically take many years to commercialize, there can be no assurance that over the longer term competitive technologies not reliant on metallurgical coal would not emerge, which could reduce the demand and price premiums for metallurgical coal.
Moreover, we may produce and market other coal products, such as thermal coal, which are also subject to alternative competition. Alternative technologies are continually being investigated and developed in order to reduce production costs or minimize environmental or social impact. In particular, alternatives with lower carbon footprints than our products are currently being researched and developed, as our customers are subject to increasing market and/or regulatory pressure to reduce their impacts on climate change. Further, the development and use of emerging technologies in the generation, transmission, storage and consumption of energy, including renewable energy, battery storage, and energy efficiency technologies, may increase the availability of alternative energy sources or lower demand for coal, resulting in lower prices and revenues. If competitive technologies emerge that use other materials in place of or otherwise eliminate the need for our products, demand and price for our products might fall.
We face uncertainties in estimating our economically recoverable coal reserves, and inaccuracies in our estimates could result in lower-than-expected revenues, higher than expected costs and decreased profitability.
Coal is economically recoverable when the price at which coal can be sold exceeds the costs and expenses of mining and selling the coal. Any forecasts of our future performance are based on, among other things, estimates of our recoverable coal reserves. We base our reserve information on geologic data, coal ownership information and current and proposed mine plans. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities and qualities of coal and costs to mine recoverable reserves, including many factors beyond our control. As a result, estimates of economically recoverable coal reserves are by their nature uncertain. Some of the factors and assumptions that can impact economically recoverable coal reserve estimates include:
geologic and mining conditions;
historical production from the area compared with production from other producing areas;
the assumed effects of environmental and other regulations and taxes by governmental agencies;
our ability to obtain, maintain and renew all required permits;
future improvements in mining technology;
assumptions related to future prices; and
future operating costs, including the cost of materials, and capital expenditures.
Each of the factors that impact reserve estimation may vary considerably from the assumptions used in estimating the reserves. For these reasons, estimates of coal reserves may vary substantially. Actual production, revenues and expenditures with respect to our future coal reserves may vary from estimates, and these variances may be material. As a result, our estimates may not accurately reflect our actual future coal reserves.
Our inability to acquire additional coal reserves that are economically recoverable may have a material adverse effect on our future profitability.
Our profitability depends substantially on our ability to mine, in a cost-effective manner, coal reserves that possess the quality characteristics that prospective customers desire. Because our reserves will decline as we mine our coal, our future profitability depends upon our ability to acquire additional coal reserves that are economically recoverable to replace the reserves we will produce. If we fail to acquire or develop sufficient additional reserves over the long term to replace the reserves depleted by our production, our existing reserves could eventually be exhausted.
We are dependent on contractors for the successful completion of the development of our properties.
We regularly use contractors in the development of our mines. Timely and cost-effective completion of the development of our properties, including necessary facilities and infrastructure, in compliance with agreed specifications
Table of Contents
is central to our business strategy and is highly dependent on the performance of our contractors under the agreements with them.
Although some agreements may provide for liquidateddamages, if the contractor fails to perform in the manner required with respect to certain of its obligations, the events that trigger a requirement to pay liquidateddamages may delay or impair the operation of our properties, and any liquidateddamages that we receive may not be sufficient to cover the damages that we suffer as a result of any such delay or impairment. Further, we may have disagreements with our contractors about different elements of the construction process, which could lead to the assertion of rights and remedies under their contracts and increase the costs associated with development of the properties or result in a contractor’s unwillingness to perform further work. If any contractor is unable or unwilling to perform according to the negotiated terms and timetable of its respective agreement for any reason or terminates its agreement, we would be required to engage a substitute contractor. This would likely result in significant project delays and increased costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Prices for coal are volatile and can fluctuate widely based upon a number of factors beyond our control, including oversupply relative to the demand available for our coal and weather. A substantial or extended decline in the prices we receive for our coal could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Our financial results are significantly affected by the prices we receive for our coal and depend, in part, on the margins that we earn on sales of our coal. Our margins will reflect the price we receive for our coal over our cost of producing and transporting our coal. Prices and quantities under U.S. domestic metallurgical coal sales contracts are generally based on expectations of the next year’s coal prices at the time the contract is entered into, renewed, extended or re-opened. Pricing in the global seaborne market is moving towards shorter term pricing models, typically using indexes. The expectation of future prices for coal depends upon many factors beyond our control, including the following:
the market price for coal;
overall domestic and global economic conditions, including the supply of and demand for domestic and foreign coal, coke and steel;
the consumption pattern of industrial consumers, electricity generators and residential users;
weather conditions in our markets that affect the demand for thermal coal or that affect the ability to produce metallurgical coal;
competition from other coal suppliers;
technological advances affecting energy consumption;
the costs, availability and capacity of transportation infrastructure;
the impact of domestic and foreign governmental laws and regulations, including environmental and climate change regulations and regulations affecting the coal mining industry, and delays in the receipt of, failure to receive, failure to maintain or revocation of necessary governmental permits; and
increased utilization by the steel industry of electric arc furnaces or pulverized coal injection processes, which reduce or eliminate the use of furnace coke, an intermediate product produced from metallurgical coal, and generally decrease the demand for metallurgical coal.
Metallurgical coal is an extremely volatile commodity. There are no assurances that supplies will remain low, that demand will not decrease or that overcapacity may resume, which could cause declines in the prices of and demand for coal, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Table of Contents
Changes in the global economic environment, inflation, rising interest rates, recessions or prolonged periods of slow economic growth, and global instability and actual and threatened geopolitical conflict, could have an adverse effect on our industry and business, as well as those of our customers and suppliers.
Overall economic conditions in the U.S. and globally, including adverse factors such as inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions and the impacts of the war in Ukraine, significantly impact our business. Periods of economic downturn or continued uncertainty could result in difficulty increasing or maintaining our level of sales or profitability and we may experience an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our operations are subject to economic conditions, including credit and capital market conditions, inflation, prevailing interest rates, and political factors, which if changed could negatively affect our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity. Political factors include, but are not limited to, changes to tax laws and regulations resulting in increased income tax liability, increased regulation, such as carbon emissions limitations or trading mechanisms, limitations on exports of energy and raw materials, and trade remedies. Actions taken by the U.S. government could affect our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has had a broad range of adverse impacts on global economic conditions, some of which have had and are likely to continue to have adverse impacts on our business, including increased raw material and energy costs, softer customer demand and lower steel prices.
Additionally, we are also exposed to risks associated with the business success and creditworthiness of our suppliers and customers. If our customers or suppliers are negatively impacted by a slowdown in economic markets, we may face the reduction, delay or cancellation of customer orders, delays or interruptions of the supply of raw materials, and increased risk of insolvency and other credit related issues of customers or suppliers, which could delay payments from customers, result in increased customer defaults and cause our suppliers to delay filling, or to be unable to fill, our needs at all or on a timely or cost-effective basis. The occurrence of any of these events may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Increased competition or a loss of our competitive position could adversely affect sales of, or prices for, our coal, which could impair our profitability. In addition, foreign currency fluctuations could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal abroad.
We compete with other producers primarily on the basis of coal quality, delivered costs to the customer and reliability of supply. We compete primarily with U.S. coal producers and with some Canadian coal producers for sales of metallurgical coal to domestic steel producers and, to a lesser extent, thermal coal to electric power generators. We also compete with both domestic and foreign coal producers for sales of metallurgical coal in international markets. Certain of these coal producers may have greater financial resources and larger reserve bases than we do. We sell coal to the seaborne metallurgical coal market, which is significantly affected by international demand and competition.
We cannot assure you that competition from other producers will not adversely affect us in the future. The coal industry has experienced significant consolidation in recent years, including consolidation among some of our major competitors. We cannot assure you that the result of current or further consolidation in the coal industry, or the reorganization through bankruptcy of competitors with large legacy liabilities, will not adversely affect us. A number of our competitors have idled production over the last several years in light of lower metallurgical coal prices. A stabilization or increase in coal prices could encourage existing producers to expand capacity or could encourage new producers to enter the market.
In addition, we face competition from foreign producers that sell their coal in the export market. Potential changes to international trade agreements, trade concessions, foreign currency fluctuations or other political and economic arrangements may benefit coal producers operating in countries other than the United States. Additionally, North American steel producers face competition from foreign steel producers, which could adversely impact the financial condition and business of our prospective customers. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete on the basis of price or other factors with companies that in the future may benefit from favorable foreign trade policies or
Table of Contents
other arrangements. Coal is sold internationally in U.S. dollars and, as a result, general economic conditions in foreign markets and changes in foreign currency exchange rates may provide our foreign competitors with a competitive advantage. If our competitors’ currencies declineagainst the U.S. dollar or against our prospective foreign customers’ local currencies, those competitors may be able to offer lower prices for coal to prospective customers. Furthermore, if the currencies of our prospective overseas customers were to significantly decline in value in comparison to the U.S. dollar, those prospective customers may seek decreased prices for the coal we sell to them. Consequently, currency fluctuations could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal in international markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business involves many hazards and operating risks, some of which may not be fully covered by insurance. The occurrence of a significant accident or other event that is not fully insured could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Our mining operations, including our preparation and transportation infrastructure, are subject to many hazards and operating risks. Underground mining and related processing activities present inherent risks of injury to persons and damage to property and equipment. Our mines are subject to a number of operating risks that could disrupt operations, decrease production and increase the cost of mining for varying lengths of time, thereby adversely affecting our operating results. In addition, if coal production declines, we may not be able to produce sufficient amounts of coal to deliver under future sales contracts. Our inability to satisfy contractual obligations could result in prospective customers initiating claimsagainst us. The operating risks that may have a significant impact on our future coal operations include:
variations in thickness of seams of coal;
adverse geologic conditions, including amounts of rock and other natural materials intruding into the coal seam, that could affect the stability of the roof and the side walls of the mine;
environmental hazards;
mining and processing equipment failures, structural failures and unexpected maintenance problems;
fires or explosions, including as a result of methane, coal, coal dust or other explosive materials, or other accidents;
unexpected mine accidents, including rock-falls and explosions caused by the ignition of metallurgical coal dust, natural gas or other explosive sources at our mine sites or fires caused by the spontaneous combustion of metallurgical coal or similar mining accidents;
inclement or hazardous weather conditions and natural disasters or other force majeure events;
seismic activities, ground failures, rock bursts or structural cave-ins or slides;
delays in moving our mining equipment;
railroad delays or derailments;
security breaches or terroristic acts; and
other hazards or occurrences that could also result in personal injury and loss of life, pollution and suspension of operations.
Any of these risks could adversely affect our ability to conduct operations or result in substantial loss to us as a result of claims for:
personal injury or loss of life;
damage to and destruction of property, natural resources and equipment, including our coal properties and our coal production or transportation facilities;
pollution, contamination and other environmental damage to our properties or the properties of others;
potential legal liability and monetary losses;
regulatory investigations, actions and penalties;
suspension of our operations; and
repair and remediation costs.
Although we maintain insurance for a number of risks and hazards, we may not be insured or fully insured, and we may not be able to recover under our insurance policies, against the losses or liabilities that could arise from a significant accident in our future coal operations. We may elect not to obtain insurance for any or all of these risks if we
Table of Contents
believe that the cost of available insurance is excessive relative to the risks presented. In addition, pollution, contamination and environmental risks generally are not fully insurable. Moreover, a significant mine accident or regulatory infraction could potentially cause a mine shutdown. For example, on July 10, 2022, we discovered that a material methane ignition at our Berwind mining complex had occurred. The occurrence of an event that is not fully covered by insurance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
In addition, if any of the foregoing changes, conditions or events occurs and is not determined to be a force majeure event, any resulting failure on our part to deliver coal to the purchaser under contract could result in economic penalties, suspension or cancellation of shipments or ultimately termination of the agreement, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Our revenue generating operations are located in a single geographic region, making us vulnerable to risks associated with operating in a single geographic area, including adverse impacts of weaker conditions associated with climate change.
Currently, all of our active revenue generating operations are conducted in a single geographic region in the eastern United States in the Appalachian basin. The geographic concentration of our operations may disproportionatelyexpose us to disruptions in our operations if the region experiences severe weather, transportation capacity constraints, constraints on the availability of required equipment, facilities, personnel or services, significant governmental regulation, natural disasters, pandemics (such as COVID-19) or interruption of transportation or other events that impact the region in which we operate or its surrounding areas. If any of these factors were to impact the region in which we operate more than other coal producing regions, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be adversely affected relative to other mining companies that have a more geographically diversified asset portfolio.
In addition, weather conditions associated with climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts and floods and other severe weather events, may impact our operations, personnel, physical assets, supply chain, distribution chain, access to raw materials such as water and the cost or availability of insurance. If any such effects were to occur in areas where we or our customers operate, they could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and cash flows. Our ability to mitigate the adverse physical impacts of climate change depends in part upon our disaster preparedness and response and business continuity planning.
The availability and reliability of transportation facilities and fluctuations in transportation costs could affect the demand for our coal or impair our ability to supply coal to prospective customers.
Transportation logistics play an important role in allowing us to supply coal to prospective customers. Any significant delays, interruptions, or other limitations on the ability to transport our coal, including those similar to the rail-related constraints we experienced in 2022, could negatively affect our operations. Delays and interruptions of rail services because of accidents, failure to complete construction of rail infrastructure, infrastructure damage, lack of rail or port capacity, weather-related problems, governmental regulation, terrorism, strikes, lockouts, third-party actions or other events could impair our ability to supply coal to customers and adversely affect our profitability. In addition, transportation costs represent a significant portion of the delivered cost of coal and, as a result, the cost of delivery is a critical factor in a customer’s purchasing decision. Increases in transportation costs, including increases resulting from emission control requirements and fluctuations in the price of locomotive diesel fuel and demurrage, could make our coal less competitive, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Any significant downtime of our major pieces of mining equipment, including any preparation plants, could impair our ability to supply coal to prospective customers and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
We depend on several major pieces of mining equipment to produce and transport our coal, including, but not limited to, underground continuous mining units and coal conveying systems, surface mining equipment such as highwall miners, front-end loaders and coal overburden haul trucks, preparation plants and related facilities, conveyors
Table of Contents
and transloading facilities. If any of these pieces of equipment or facilities suffered major damage or were destroyed by fire, abnormal wear, flooding, incorrect operation or otherwise, we may be unable to replace or repair them in a timely manner or at a reasonable cost, which would impact our ability to produce and transport coal and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Moreover, the MSHA and other regulatory agencies sometimes make changes with regard to requirements for pieces of equipment. Such changes could cause delays if manufacturers and suppliers are unable to make the required changes in compliance with mandated deadlines.
If either our preparation plants, or train loadout facilities, or those of a third party processing or loading our coal, suffer extended downtime, including from major damage, or are destroyed, our ability to process and deliver coal to prospective customers would be materially impacted, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
If customers do not enter into, extend or honor contracts with us, our profitability could be adversely affected.
Coal mined from our operations is subject to testing by prospective customers for its ability to meet various specifications and to work satisfactorily in their ovens and other facilities prior to entering into contracts for purchase (which are typically short-term orders having terms of one year or less). If we are unable to successfully test our coals or enter into new contracts for the sale of our coal, our ability to achieveprofitability would be materially adversely affected. Once we enter into contracts, if a substantial portion of our sales contracts are modified or terminated and we are unable to replace the contracts (or if new contracts are priced at lower levels), our results of operations would be adversely affected, perhaps materially. In addition, if customers refuse to accept shipments of our coal for which they have a contractual obligation, our revenues could be substantially affected and we may have to reduce production at our mines until the customer’s contractual obligations are honored. This, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on the payments we receive which could affect our business, financial condition, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Certain provisions in typical long-term sales contracts provide limited protection during adverse economic conditions, which may eventually result in economic penalties to us or permit the customer to terminate the contract. Furthermore, our ability to collect payments from prospective customers could be impaired if their creditworthiness declines or if they fail to honor their contracts with us.
We do not expect to enter into significant long-term sales contracts, but if we do, price adjustment, “price reopener” and other similar provisions typical in long-term sales contracts may reduce protection from short-term coal price volatility traditionally provided by such contracts. Price reopener provisions may be included in our future sales contracts. These price reopener provisions may automatically set a new price based on prevailing market price or, in some instances, require the parties to agree on a new price, sometimes within a specified range of prices. Any adjustment or renegotiationsleading to a significantly lower contract price could adversely affect our profitability. Some annual metallurgical coal contracts have shifted to quarterly contracts and many include prices determined by averaging the leading spot indexes reported in the market, exposing us further to risks related to pricing volatility.
Our ability to receive payment for coal sold and delivered depends on the continued solvency and creditworthiness of prospective customers. The number of domestic steel producers is small, and they compete globally for steel production. If their business or creditworthiness suffers, we may bear an increased risk with respect to payment default. Competition with other coal suppliers could force us to extend credit to customers and on terms that could increase the risk we bear with respect to payment default. We could also enter into agreements to supply coal to energy trading and brokering customers under which a customer sells coal to end-users. If the creditworthiness of any prospective energy trading and brokering customer declines, we may not be able to collect payment for all coal sold and delivered to or on behalf of this customer.
In addition, if customers refuse to accept shipments of our coal that they have a contractual obligation to purchase, our revenues will decrease, and we may have to reduce production at our mines until prospective customers’ contractual obligations are honored. Our inability to collect payment from counterparties to our sales contracts may
Table of Contents
materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
We may be unsuccessful in integrating the operations of any future acquisitions, including acquisitions involving new lines of business, with our existing operations, and in realizing all or any part of the anticipated benefits of any such acquisitions.
From time to time, we may evaluate and acquire assets and businesses that we believe complement our existing assets and business, such as the mineral lease with the McDonald Land Company for coal reserves adjacent to our Elk Creek mine complex near Logan, West Virginia. The assets and businesses we acquire may be dissimilar from our initial lines of business. Acquisitions may require substantial capital or the incurrence of substantial indebtedness. Our capitalization and results of operations may change significantly as a result of future acquisitions. We may also add new lines of business to our existing operations.
Further, unexpected costs and challenges may arise whenever businesses with different operations or management are combined, and we may experience unanticipateddelays in realizing the benefits of an acquisition. Entry into certain lines of business may subject us to new laws and regulations with which we are not familiar and may lead to increased litigation and regulatory risk. Also, following an acquisition, we may discover previously unknown liabilities associated with the acquired business or assets for which we have no recourse under applicable indemnification provisions. If an acquired business or new line of business generates insufficient revenue or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations may be materially adversely affected.
To maintain and grow our business, we will be required to make substantial capital expenditures. If we are unable to obtain needed capital or financing on satisfactory terms, we may have to curtail our operations and delay our construction and growth plans, which may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
In order to maintain and grow our business, we will need to make substantial capital expenditures associated with our mines and the construction of coal preparation facilities which have not yet been constructed. Constructing, maintaining, repairing and expanding mines and infrastructure, including coal preparation and loading facilities, is capital intensive. Specifically, the exploration, permitting and development of coal reserves, and the maintenance of machinery, equipment and facilities, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations require substantial capital expenditures. While we funded a significant amount of the capital expenditures needed to build out our mining and preparation infrastructure at our Elk Creek property with cash on hand, we must continue to invest capital to maintain or to increase our production and to develop any future acquired properties. Decisions to increase our production levels could also affect our capital needs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our production levels or generate sufficient cash flow, or that we will have access to sufficient financing to continue our production, exploration, permitting and development activities, and we may be required to defer all or a portion of our capital expenditures.
If we do not make sufficient or effective capital expenditures, we will be unable to develop and grow our business. To fund our projected capital expenditures, we will be required to use cash from our operations, incur debt or issue additional common stock or other equity securities. Using cash from our operations will reduce cash available for maintaining or increasing our operating activities and paying dividends to our stockholders. Our ability to obtain bank financing or our ability to access the capital markets for future equity or debt offerings may be limited by our financial condition at the time of any such financing or offering and the covenants in our future debt agreements, as well as by general economic conditions, contingencies and uncertainties that are beyond our control.
In addition, incurring debt may significantly increase our interest expense and financial leverage, and issuing additional equity securities may result in significant stockholder dilution.
Table of Contents
We may not be able to obtain equipment, parts and supplies in a timely manner, in sufficient quantities or at reasonable costs to support our coal mining and transportation operations.
Coal mining consumes large quantities of commodities including steel, copper, rubber products and liquid fuels and requires the use of capital equipment. Some commodities, such as steel, are needed to comply with roof control plans required by regulation. The prices we pay for commodities and capital equipment are strongly impacted by the global market. A rapid or significant increase in the costs of commodities or capital equipment we use in our operations could impact our mining operations costs because we may have a limited ability to negotiate lower prices and, in some cases, may not have a ready substitute.
We use equipment in our coal mining and transportation operations such as continuous mining units, conveyors, shuttle cars, rail cars, locomotives, and roof bolters. We procure this equipment from a concentrated group of suppliers, and obtaining this equipment often involves long lead times. Occasionally, demand for such equipment by mining companies can be high and some types of equipment may be in short supply. Delays in receiving or shortages of this equipment, as well as the raw materials used in the manufacturing of supplies and mining equipment, which, in some cases, do not have ready substitutes, or the cancellation of any future supply contracts under which we obtain equipment and other consumables, could limit our ability to obtain these supplies or equipment. In addition, if any of our suppliers experiences an adverse event, or decides to no longer do business with us, we may be unable to obtain sufficient equipment and raw materials in a timely manner or at a reasonable price to allow us to meet our production goals and our revenues may be adversely impacted. We use considerable quantities of steel in the mining process. If the price of steel or other materials increases substantially or if the value of the U.S. dollar declines relative to foreign currencies with respect to certain imported supplies or other products, our operating expenses could increase. Any of the foregoing events could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
We are a holding company, and we depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute funds to us in order to satisfy our financial obligations and to make dividend payments.
We are a holding company, and our subsidiaries conduct all of our operations and own all of our operating assets. We have no significant assets other than the equity interests in our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to pay our obligations and to make dividend payments depends entirely on our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute funds to us. The ability of a subsidiary to make these distributions could be affected by a claim or other action by a third-party, including a creditor, or by the law of their respective jurisdictions of formation which regulates the payment of dividends. If we are unable to obtain funds from our subsidiaries, we may not be able to declare or pay dividends.
Our operations could be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain required financial assurance, or if the costs of financial assurance increase materially.
Federal and state laws require financial assurance to secure our permit obligations including to reclaim lands used for mining, to pay federal and state workers’ compensation and black lung benefits, and to satisfy other miscellaneous obligations. Individually and collectively, revised financial assurance requirements may lead to increased demand for other forms of financial assurance, which may strain capacity for those instruments and increase our costs of obtaining and maintaining the amounts of financial assurance needed for our operations, which may delay the timing for and increase the costs of obtaining this financial assurance.
We use surety bonds, trusts and letters of credit to provide financial assurance for certain transactions and business activities. If, in the future, we are unable to secure surety bonds for these obligations and are forced to secure letters of credit indefinitely or obtain some other form of financial assurance at too high of a cost, we may not be able to obtain permits and production on our properties could be adversely affected. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Table of Contents
Our mines are located in areas containing oil and natural gas operations, which may require us to coordinate our operations with those of oil and natural gas drillers.
Our coal reserves are in areas containing developed or undeveloped oil and natural gas deposits and reservoirs, including the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, and our Virginia reserves are currently the subject of substantial oil and natural gas exploration and production activities, including by horizontal drilling. If we have received a permit for our mining activities, then, while we will have to coordinate our mining with such oil and natural gas drillers, our mining activities are expected to have priority over any oil and natural gas drillers with respect to the land covered by our permit. For reserves outside of our permits, we expect to engage in discussions with drilling companies on potential areas on which they can drill that may have a minimal effect on our mine plan. Depending on priority of interests, our operations may have to avoid existing oil and gas wells or expend sums to plug oil and gas wells.
If a well is in the path of our mining for coal on land that has not yet been permitted for our mining activities, we may not be able to mine through the well unless we purchase it. The cost of purchasing a producing horizontal or vertical well could be substantial. Horizontal wells with multiple laterals extending from the well pad may access larger oil and natural gas reserves than a vertical well, which would typically result in a higher cost to acquire. The cost associated with purchasing oil and natural gas wells that are in the path of our coal mining activities may make mining through those wells uneconomical, thereby effectively causing a loss of significant portions of our coal reserves, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Defects in title or loss of any leasehold interests in our properties could limit our ability to conduct mining operations on these properties or result in significant unanticipated costs.
We conduct a significant part of our mining operations on properties that we lease. A title defect or the loss of any lease upon expiration of its term, upon a default or otherwise, could adversely affect our ability to mine the associated reserves and/or process the coal we mine. Title to most of our owned or leased properties and mineral rights is not usually verified until we make a commitment to develop a property, which may not occur until after we have obtained necessary permits and completed exploration of the property. In some cases, we rely on title information or representations and warranties provided by our lessors or grantors. Our right to mine some of our reserves may be adversely affected if defects in title or boundaries exist or if a lease expires. Any challenge to our title or leasehold interests could delay the exploration and development of the property and could ultimately result in the loss of some or all of our interest in the property and, accordingly, require us to reduce our estimated coal reserves. Mining operations from time to time may rely on an expired lease that we are unable to renew. If we were to be in default with respect to leases for properties on which we have mining operations, we may have to close down or significantly alter the sequence of such mining operations, which may adversely affect our future coal production and future revenues. If we mine on property that we do not own or lease, we could incur liability for such mining.
In any such case, the investigation and resolution of title issues would divert management’s time from our business and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Additionally, if we lose any leasehold interests relating to any preparation plants, we may need to find an alternative location to process our coal and load it for delivery to customers, which could result in significant unanticipated costs.
In order to obtain leases or mining contracts to conduct our mining operations on property where these defects exist, we may in the future have to incur unanticipated costs. In addition, we may not be able to successfully negotiate new leases or mining contracts for properties containing additional reserves or maintain our leasehold interests in properties where we have not commenced mining operations during the term of the lease. Some leases have minimum production requirements. Failure to meet those requirements could result in losses of prepaid royalties and, in some rare cases, could result in a loss of the lease itself.
Table of Contents
While none of our employees who conduct mining operations are currently members of unions, our business could be adversely affected by union activities.
We are not subject to any collective bargaining or union agreement with respect to properties we currently control. However, it is possible that future employees, or those of our contract miners, who conduct mining operations may join or seek recognition to form a labor union or may be required to become labor agreement signatories. If some or all of the employees who conduct mining operations were to become unionized, it could adversely affect productivity, increase labor costs and increase the risk of work stoppages at our mines. If a work stoppage were to occur, it could interfere with operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
A shortage of skilled labor in the mining industry could pose a risk to achievingimproved labor productivity, which could adversely affect our profitability.
Efficient coal mining using modern techniques and equipment requires skilled laborers, preferably with at least a year of experience and proficiency in multiple mining tasks. The demand for skilled employees sometimes causes a significant constriction of the labor supply resulting in higher labor costs. When met coal producers compete for skilled miners, recruiting challenges can occur and employee turnover rates can increase, which negatively affect operating efficiency and costs. In the event there is a shortage of experienced labor, it could have an adverse impact on our labor productivity and our ability to expand production in the event there is an increase in the demand for our coal.
We may face restricted access to international markets in the future.
Access to international markets may be subject to ongoing interruptions and trade barriers due to policies and tariffs of individual countries, and the actions of certain interest groups to restrict the import or export of certain commodities. There can be no assurance that our access to these markets will not be restricted in the future. An inability for U.S. metallurgical coal suppliers to access international markets would likely result in an oversupply of metallurgical coal in the domestic market, resulting in a decrease in prices, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
We and our significant stockholders are subject to the Applicant Violator System.
Under the SMCRA and its state law counterparts, all coal mining applications must include mandatory “ownership and control” information, which generally includes listing the names of our officers and directors, and our principal stockholders owning 10 percent or more of our voting shares, among others. Ownership and control reporting requirements are designed to allow regulatory review of any entities or persons deemed to have ownership or control of a coal mine, and bars the granting of a coal mining permit to any such entity or person (including any “owner and controller”) who has had a mining permit revoked or suspended, or a bond or similar security forfeited within the five-year period preceding a permit application or application for a permit revision. Regulatory agencies also block the issuance of permits to an applicant who, or whose owner and controller, has permit violations outstanding that have not been timely abated.
A federal database, known as the Applicant Violator System, is maintained for this purpose. Certain relationships are presumed to constitute ownership or control, including the following: being an officer or director of an entity; being the operator of the coal mining operation; having the ability to commit the financial or real property assets or working resources of the permittee or operator; based on the instruments of ownership or the voting securities of a corporate entity, owning of record 10% or more of the mining operator, among others. This presumption, in most cases, can be rebutted where the person or entity can demonstrate that it in fact does not or did not have authority directly or indirectly to determine the manner in which the relevant coal mining operation is conducted. An ownership and control notice must be filed by us each time an entity obtains a 10% or greater interest in us. If we have unabated violations of the SMCRA or its state law counterparts, have a coal mining permit suspended or revoked, or forfeit a reclamation bond, we and our “owners and controllers,” as discussed above, may be prohibited from obtaining new coal mining permits, or amendments to existing permits, until such violations of law are corrected. This is known as being “permit-blocked.” Additionally, Yorktown is deemed an “owner or controller” of a number of other mining companies; as such, we could
Table of Contents
be permit-blocked based upon the violations of or permit-blocked status of an “owner or controller” of us. This could adversely affect production from our properties.
We may be subject to additional limitations on our ability to conduct mining operations due to federal jurisdiction.
We may conduct some underground mining activities on properties that are within the designated boundary of federally protected lands or national forests where the above-mentioned restrictions within the meaning of the SMCRA could apply. Federal court decisions could pose a potential restriction on underground mining within 100 feet of a public road as well as other restrictions. If these SMCRA restrictions ultimately apply to underground mining, considerable uncertainty would exist about the nature and extent of this restriction. While it could remain possible to obtain permits for underground mining operations in these areas even where this 100-foot restriction was applied, the time and expense of that permitting process would be likely to increase significantly, and the restrictions placed on the mining of those properties could adversely affect our costs.
Our lessees could satisfy obligations to their customers with minerals from properties other than ours, depriving us of the ability to receive amounts in excess of minimum royalty payments.
Mineral supply contracts generally do not require operators to satisfy their obligations to their customers with resources mined from specific locations. Several factors may influence a lessee’s decision to supply its customers with minerals mined from properties we do not own or lease, including the royalty rates under the lessee’s lease with us, mining conditions, mine operating costs, cost and availability of transportation, and customer specifications. In addition, lessees move on and off of our properties over the course of any given year in accordance with their mine plans. If a lessee satisfies its obligations to its customers with minerals from properties we do not own or lease, production on our properties will decrease, and we will receive lower royalty revenues.
A lessee may incorrectly report royalty revenues, which might not be identified by our lessee audit process or our mine inspection process or, if identified, might be identified in a subsequent period.
We depend on our lessees to correctly report production and royalty revenues on a monthly basis. Our regular lessee audits and mine inspections may not discover any irregularities in these reports or, if we do discover errors, we might not identify them in the reporting period in which they occurred. Any undiscovered reporting errors could result in a loss of royalty revenues and errors identified in subsequent periods could lead to accounting disputes as well as disputes with our lessees.
Because of the unique difficulties and uncertainties inherent in technology development, we face a risk of not being able to capitalize on our license or ownership of intellectual property.
Potential investors should be aware of the difficulties normally encountered by companies developing new technology and the high rate of failure of such enterprises. The likelihood of our successful ability to commercialize intellectual property we own or license must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications and delays encountered in connection with the development of new technology with limited personnel and financial means. These potential problems include, but are not limited to, unanticipated technical problems that extend the time and cost of product development or unanticipatedproblems with the operation of the technology.
Technology development involves significant time and expense and can be uncertain.
The development of technology associated with our licensed or owned intellectual property will be costly, complex and time-consuming. Any investment into technology development and commercialization often involves a long wait until a return, if any, is achieved on such investment. We plan to make investments in research and development relating to our owned and licensed intellectual property and technology. Investments in new technology and processes are inherently speculative.
Table of Contents
Successful technical development of technologies associated with intellectual property does not guarantee successful commercialization.
We may successfully complete the technical development of technologies associated with our owned or licensed intellectual property, but we may still fail to commercialize that technology at scale or at a cost attractive to the target industries. Our success will depend largely on our ability to prove the capabilities and cost-effectiveness of the developed technology. Upon demonstration, the technology may not have the capabilities they were designed to have or that we believed they would have, or they may be more expensive than anticipated. Furthermore, even if we do successfully demonstrate the technology’s capabilities, potential customers may be more comfortable doing business with a larger, more established, more proven company than us. Moreover, competing technologies may prevent us from gaining wide market acceptance of the technology. Significant revenue from new technology investments may not be achieved for a number of years, if at all.
If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights, we could lose our ability to compete in the market.
Our intellectual property and proprietary rights are important to our ability to remain competitive and for the success of our products and our business. Our intellectual property rights may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by third parties. We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our technical knowledge or other trade secrets by employees or competitors. Furthermore, our competitors may independently develop technologies and products that are substantially equivalent or superior to our technologies and/or products, which could result in decreased revenues. Moreover, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights which could result in substantial costs to us and substantial diversion of management attention. If we do not adequately protect our intellectual property, our competitors could use it to enhance their products. Our inability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our business and financial condition, and the value of our brand and other intangible assets.
Other companies may claim that we infringe their intellectual property, which could materially increase our costs and harm our ability to generate future revenue and profit.
We do not believe that we infringe the proprietary rights of any third party, but claims of infringement are becoming increasingly common, and third parties may assert infringementclaimsagainst us. It may be difficult or impossible to identify, prior to receipt of notice from a third party, the trade secrets, patent position or other intellectual property rights of a third party, either in the United States or in foreign jurisdictions. Any such assertion may result in litigation or may require us to obtain a license for the intellectual property rights of third parties. If we are required to obtain licenses to use any third-party technology, we would have to pay royalties, which may significantly reduce any profit on our products. In addition, any such litigation could be expensive and disruptive to our ability to generate revenue or enter into new market opportunities. If any of our products were found to infringe other parties’ proprietary rights and we are unable to come to terms regarding a license with such parties, we may be forced to modify our products to make them non-infringing or to cease production of such products altogether.
Risks Related to Environmental, Health, Safety and Other Regulations
The enactment of legislative and regulatory measures could adversely affect our mining operations or cost structure or our customers’ ability to use coal, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
At the international level, the United States’ position on the Paris Agreement has shifted repeatedly, creating policy uncertainty with direct implications. The U.S. joined the Paris framework in 2016, withdrew in 2020, reentered in early 2021, and began another withdrawal in 2025 that was finalized on January 27, 2026. The U.S. also participated in various U.N. Framework Conventions on Climate Change and made various other environmental commitments. Various state and local governments also publicly committed to furthering the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Table of Contents
In federal legislation, the 2021 infrastructure law funded climate resilience and clean energy/transportation investments, though certain climate-focused elements were subsequently curtailed by the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law. The Inflation Reduction Act provides significant funding and incentives for research and development of low-carbon energy production methods, carbon capture, and other programs directed at addressing climate change. The Biden administration moved to unwind several regulatory rollbacks enacted or proposed by the first Trump administration, including, among others, the ACE Rule, the NWPR, and the proposed NEPA overhaul. In January 2022, the EPA announced coal combustion residuals rules reiterating that surface impoundments cannot be closed with coal ash in contact with groundwater and establishing a federal permitting scheme for the disposal of coal ash and establishing regulations for legacy coal ash surface impoundments and certain other non-impoundment CCR units. The second Trump administration has, in some instances, proposed and in others finalized efforts to reinstate prior rollbacks and pursue additional repeals and restrictions across these regimes. The full extent and timing of such changes is unknown, and future administrations may again reverse policies or changes adopted by the second Trump administration.
New, more stringent legislation or regulations related to the protection of the environment, health and safety or the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as changes in the interpretation and enforcement of such laws and regulations, may require us or our customers to change operations significantly or incur increased costs, which may adversely affect our mining operations, cost structure or our customers’ ability to use coal. Such changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Laws and regulations restricting or encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as well as uncertainty concerning such regulations and increasing public attention toward climate change could adversely impact the market for coal, increase our operating costs, and reduce the value of our coal assets and our stock price.
Climate change continues to attract considerable public and scientific attention. There is widespread concern about the contributions of human activity to such changes, especially through the emission of GHGs. Numerous reports, such as the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have further raised concern about the impacts of fossil fuel combustion on global climate issues. There are three primary sources of GHGs associated with the coal industry. First, the end use of our coal by our customers in electricity generation, coke plants, and steelmaking is a source of GHGs. Second, combustion of fuel by equipment used in coal production and to transport our coal to our customers is a source of GHGs. Third, coal mining itself can release methane, which is considered to be a more potent GHG than carbon dioxide, directly into the atmosphere. These emissions from coal consumption, transportation and production are subject to pending and proposed regulation as part of initiatives to address global climate change.
As a result, numerous proposals have been adopted, made and are likely to continue to be made at the international, national, regional, state and local levels of government to monitor and limit emissions of GHGs, including alternative energy requirements, measures promoting renewable energy development, and energy conservation and emissions reductions measures, among others. Collectively, these initiatives could result in higher electricity costs to our customers or lower the demand for coal used in electric or steel generation, which could in turn adversely impact our business. Such initiatives, as well as increasing public attention to climate change more generally, could also result in direct regulation of the GHGs produced by our operations or increase the potential for governmental investigations or litigation. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters—Global Climate Change.”
At present, we are principally focused on metallurgical coal production, which is not used in connection with the production of power generation. However, we may seek to sell greater amounts of our coal into the power-generation market in the future. The market for our coal may be adversely impacted if comprehensive legislation or regulations focusing on GHG emission reductions are adopted, or if our customers are unable to obtain financing for their operations. The extent of future regulation of GHG emissions may inhibit utilities from investing in the building of new coal-fired plants to replace older plants or investing in the upgrading of existing coal-fired plants. Any reduction in the amount of coal consumed by electric power generators as a result of actual or potential regulation of GHG emissions, including any reductions resulting from power plants ceasing operations or switching to fuels that produce fewer GHG
Table of Contents
emissions, could decrease demand for our coal, thereby reducing our revenues and materially and adversely affecting our business and results of operations. We or prospective customers may also have to invest in carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies in order to burn coal and comply with future GHG emission standards, and new legislation, regulations or international agreements in the future could otherwise result in increased costs to operate and maintain our or our customers’ facilities, capital expenditures to install other emission controls at our or our customers’ facilities, and costs to administer and manage any potential climate-related reporting or greenhouse gas emissions trading or tax programs. These costs and capital expenditures could be material and could increase the cost of and reduce demand for our products. Relatedly, to the extent others use or develop new technological advances in coal production in response to market or regulatory pressures to reduce their impact on the environment, we may be placed at a competitive disadvantage or may be forced by competitive pressures to implement new technologies at substantial costs. We may not be able to respond to these competitive pressures or implement new technologies on a timely basis or at an acceptable cost. If one or more of the technologies we use now or in the future were to become obsolete, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. See also the risk factor “—Product alternatives or other technologies may reduce demand for our products.”
Current and future laws, regulations and other legal requirements relating to protection of the environment and natural resources may increase our costs of doing business and may restrict our coal operations.
We and our potential customers are subject to stringent and complex laws, regulations and other legal requirements enacted by federal, state and local authorities relating to occupational health and safety and protection of the environment and natural resources. These include those legal requirements that govern discharges or emissions of materials into the environment, the management and disposal of substances and wastes, including hazardous wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites, threatened and endangered plant and wildlife protection, reclamation and restoration of mining properties after mining is completed, mitigation and restoration of streams or other waters, the protection of drinking water, assessment of the environmental impacts of mining, monitoring and reporting requirements, the installation of various safety equipment in our mines, remediation of impacts of surface subsidence from underground mining, and work practices related to employee health and safety. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters.” Examples include laws and regulations relating to:
occupational health and safety;
emissions to air and discharges to water;
plant and wildlife protection, including endangered species protections;
the reclamation and restoration of properties after mining or other activity has been completed;
limitations on land use;
mine permitting and licensing requirements;
the storage, treatment and disposal of wastes;
air quality standards;
water pollution;
protection of human health, plant life and wildlife, including endangered and threatened species, and biodiversity;
protection of wetlands;
the discharge of materials into the environment;
remediation of contaminated soil, surface and groundwater; and
the effects of operations on surface water and groundwater quality and availability.
Complying with these environmental and employee health and safety requirements, including the terms of our permits, has had, and will continue to have, a significant effect on our costs of operations. In addition, there is the possibility that we could incur substantial costs as a result of violations of environmental laws, judicial interpretations of or rulings on environmental laws or permits, or in connection with the investigation and remediation of environmental contamination. Any additional laws, regulations and other legal requirements enacted or adopted by federal, state and local authorities, or new interpretations of existing legal requirements by regulatory bodies relating to the protection of the environment, including, for example, those related to discharges of selenium, could further affect our costs or limit our operations. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters.”
Table of Contents
Our operations may impact the environment or cause exposure to hazardous substances, and our properties may have environmental contamination, which could expose us to significant costs and liabilities.
Our operations currently use hazardous materials and generate limited quantities of hazardous wastes from time to time. Drainage flowing from or caused by mining activities can be acidic with elevated levels of dissolved metals, a condition referred to as “acid mine drainage,” or may include other pollutants requiring treatment. We could become subject to claims for toxic torts, natural resource damages and other damages as well as for the investigation and clean-up of soil, surface water, groundwater, and other media. Such claims may arise, for example, out of conditions at sites that we currently own or operate, as well as at sites that we previously owned or operated, or may acquire. Our liability for such claims may be joint and several, so that we may be held responsible for more than our share of the contamination or other damages, or for the entire share.
We maintain coal refuse areas and slurry impoundments as necessary. Such areas and impoundments are subject to extensive regulation. Structural failure of a slurry impoundment or coal refuse area could result in extensive damage to the environment and natural resources, such as bodies of water that the coal slurry reaches, as well as liability for related personal injuries and property damages, and injuries to wildlife. If an impoundment were to fail, we could be subject to claims for the resulting environmental contamination and associated liability, as well as for fines and penalties. Our coal refuse areas and slurry impoundments are designed, constructed, and inspected by our company and by regulatory authorities according to stringent environmental and safety standards.
We must obtain, maintain, and renew governmental permits and approvals for mining operations, which can be a costly and time-consuming process and result in restrictions on our operations.
Numerous governmental permits and approvals are required for mining operations. Our operations are principally regulated under permits issued pursuant to the SMCRA and the federal CWA. State and federal regulatory authorities exercise considerable discretion in the timing and scope of permit issuance. Requirements imposed by these authorities may be costly and time-consuming and may result in delays in the commencement or continuation of exploration or production operations. In addition, we may be required to prepare and present to permitting or other regulatory authorities data pertaining to the effect or impact that proposed exploration for or production of coal might have on the environment.
Our coal production is dependent upon our ability to obtain various federal and state permits and approvals to mine our coal reserves. The permitting rules, and the interpretations of these rules, are complex, change frequently, and are often subject to discretionary interpretations by regulators, all of which may make compliance more difficult or impractical, and which may possibly preclude the continuance of ongoing mine development or operations or the development of future mining operations. The pace with which the government issues permits needed for new operations and for ongoing operations to continue mining, particularly CWA permits, can be time-consuming and subject to delays and denials. These delays or denials of environmental permits needed for mining could reduce our production and materially, adversely impact our cash flow and results of operations.
Prior to discharging any pollutants to waters of the United States, coal mining companies must obtain an NPDES permit from the appropriate state or federal permitting authority. NPDES permits include effluent limitations for discharged pollutants and other terms and conditions, including required monitoring of discharges. Changes and proposed changes in state and federally recommended water quality standards may result in the issuance or modification of permits with new or more stringent effluent limits or terms and conditions. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters—Clean Water Act.”
Further, the public has certain statutory rights to comment on and submit objections to requested permits and environmental impact statements prepared in connection with applicable regulatory processes, and otherwise engage in the permitting process, including bringing citizens’ claims to challenge the issuance or renewal of permits, the validity of environmental impact statements or performance of mining activities. As a result of challenges like these, the permits we need may not be issued or renewed in a timely fashion or issued or renewed at all, or permits issued or renewed may not be maintained, may be challenged or may be conditioned in a manner that may restrict our ability to efficiently and
Table of Contents
economically conduct our mining activities, any of which would materially reduce our production, cash flow, and profitability.
Permitting rules may also require, under certain circumstances, that we obtain surface-owner consent if the surface estate has been severed from the mineral estate. This could require us to negotiate with third parties for surface access that overlies coal we acquired or intend to acquire. These negotiations can be costly and time-consuming, lasting years in some instances, which can create additional delays in the permitting process. If we cannot successfully negotiate for land access, we could be denied a permit to mine coal we already own.
Federal or state regulatory agencies have the authority to order certain of our mines to be temporarily or permanently closed under certain circumstances, which could materially and adversely affect our ability to meet our customers’ demands.
Federal or state regulatory agencies have the authority, under certain circumstances following significant health and safety incidents, such as fatalities, to order a mine to be temporarily or permanently closed. If this occurred, we may be required to incur capital expenditures to re-open the mine. In the event that these agencies order the closing of our mines, our coal sales contracts generally permit us to issue force majeure notices which suspend our obligations to deliver coal under these contracts. However, our customers may challenge our issuances of force majeure notices. If these challenges are successful, we may have to purchase coal from third-party sources, if it is available, to fulfill these obligations, incur capital expenditures to re-open the mines and/or negotiate settlements with the customers, which may include price reductions, the reduction of commitments, the extension of time for delivery or the termination of customers’ contracts. Any of these actions could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Our customers are subject to extensive existing and future laws, regulations and other legal requirements relating to protection of the environment, which could negatively impact our business and the market for our products.
Coal contains impurities, including sulfur, mercury, chlorine and other elements or compounds, many of which are released into the air when coal is burned. Complying with regulations to address these emissions can be costly for our customers. For example, in order to meet the CAA limits for sulfur dioxide emissions from electric power plants, coal users must install costly pollution control devices, use sulfur dioxide emission allowances (some of which they may purchase), or switch to other fuels. More costly and stringent environmental regulations could adversely impact the operations of our customers, which could in turn adversely impact our business. A number of coal-fired power plants, particularly smaller and older plants, have already been retired or announced that they will retire rather than retrofit to meet the obligations of these and other rules.
In addition, considerable uncertainty is associated with new air emissions initiatives that may require significant emissions control expenditures for many coal-fired power plants. As a result, some of our prospective customers may switch to other fuels that generate fewer of these emissions or may install more effective pollution control equipment that reduces the need for low-sulfur coal. Any further switching of fuel sources away from coal, closure of existing coal-fired power plants, or reduced construction of new coal-fired power plants could have a material adverse effect on demand for, and prices received for, our coal. In addition, our coke plant and steelmaking customers may face increased operational costs as a result of higher electric costs. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters.”
Apart from actual and potential regulation of air emissions and solid wastes from coal-fired plants, governmental mandates for increased use of electricity from renewable energy sources could have an impact on the market for our coal. Many states, including Pennsylvania and Virginia, have enacted legislative mandates requiring electricity suppliers to use renewable energy sources to generate a certain percentage of power. Possible advances in technologies and incentives, such as under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, to enhance the economics of renewable energy sources could make these sources more competitive with coal. Any reductions in the amount of coal consumed by electric power generators as a result of current or new standards for the emission of impurities, or current or new incentives to switch to renewable fuels or renewable energy sources could reduce the demand for our coal, thereby reducing our revenues and adversely affecting our business, cash flows, results of operations and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Table of Contents
Negative sentiment with regard to our business or our industry as well as activism, consumer preferences, and initiatives aimed at limiting climate change or a reduction of air pollutants could interfere with our business activities, operations and ability to access capital sources, result in reduced demand for our products, and negatively impact our stock price.
Public perception of our industry’s contribution to climate change or detractions from the transition to a lower-carbon economy has generated negative sentiment toward our industry and could result in reputational harm to our business, lower demand for our products, and increased demand for alternatives to our products. Numerous activist groups are devoting resources to anti-coal activities to minimize or eliminate the production of or use of coal as a source of electricity generation, domestically and internationally. Participants in the coal mining industry are frequently targeted by activist groups that openly attempt to disrupt the industry. For example, Greenpeace International filed a letter with the SEC alleging that one coal mining company’s filings relating to a proposed public offering of securities may contain incomplete and misleading disclosures regarding the risks of investing in the coal market. On another occasion, the Sierra Club sent a letter to the SEC stating that it believed a coal mining company may be giving potential investors false impressions regarding risks to its business. Other groups have objected to our RAM No. 1 mine permit application in Pennsylvania. It is possible that we could continue to be the target of similar actions in the future, including when we attempt to grow our business through acquisitions or commence new mining operations. Activist groups have also brought lawsuits challenging the issuance of individual coal leases, historical and pending regulatory approvals, permits and processes that are necessary to conduct coal mining operations or to operate coal-fueled power plants. Negative public perception could cause the permits we require to conduct our operations to be withheld, delayed or burdened by requirements that restrict our ability to profitably conduct our business. Litigation risks are also increasing, as a number of government entities and private individuals have sought to bring suit against fossil fuel companies, alleging, among other things, that such companies created public nuisances by producing fuels that contributed to climate change or alleging that the companies have been aware of the adverse effects of climate change for some time but failed to adequatelydisclose such impacts to their investors or customers. Private individuals or public entities may also seek to enforce laws and regulations against us and could allege personal injury, property damages or other liabilities in relation to climate change or other environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters. An unfavorable ruling in any such case could have an adverse impact on our financial condition. Any such activism could therefore materially and adversely impact our ability to operate our business or raise capital.
In addition, there have also been efforts in recent years to influence the investment community, including investment advisors, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, universities and other groups, promoting the divestment of fossil fuel equities; encouraging the consideration of ESG practices and ESG ratings of companies in a manner that may negatively affect coal companies, including increased negative investor sentiment, divestment of securities issued by coal companies and the diversion of investment to other industries; and also pressuring lenders to limit funding to companies engaged in the extraction of fossil fuel reserves. For example, certain financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies, have taken actions to limit available financing, insurance and other services to entities that produce or use fossil fuels. Several large investment banks have adopted climate change guidelines for lenders. The guidelines require the evaluation of carbon risks in the financing of electric power generation plants, which may make it more difficult for utilities to obtain financing for coal-fired plants. The impact of such efforts and developments may adversely affect the demand for and price of securities issued by us, adversely impact our access to the capital and financial markets, increase the cost of borrowing, cause a decline in our credit rating, increase the cost or reduce the availability of third-party insurance, increase our retention of risk through self-insurance, and limit our flexibility and ability to conduct business development activities. Further, in California, legislation was signed into law in September 2015 to require the state’s pension funds to divest investments in companies that generate 50% or more of their revenue from coal mining by July 2017. Additionally, Maine passed a law in June 2021 requiring the state pension system to divest holdings in coal, petroleum, natural gas and related products by 2026, and the New York State Common Retirement Fund has and is continuing to divest from coal assets. These efforts and developments, as well as concerted conservation and efficiency efforts, could also cause coal prices and sales of our coal to materially decline and could cause our costs to increase.
Other activist campaigns have urged companies to cease financing coal-driven businesses. A number of investors and asset managers have enacted such policies as a result, including by beginning to exit investments that
Table of Contents
present high sustainability-related risks, such as thermal coal producers. The impact of such efforts may adversely affect the demand for and price of securities issued by us and impact our access to the capital and financial markets. In addition, several well-funded non-governmental organizations have explicitly undertaken campaigns to minimize or eliminate mining and the use of coal as a source of electricity generation. The net effect of these developments is to make it more costly and difficult to maintain our business and to continue to depress the market for coal.
Our mines are subject to stringent federal and state safety regulations that increase our cost of doing business at active operations and may place restrictions on our methods of operation. In addition, government inspectors in certain circumstances may have the ability to order our operations to be shut down based on safety considerations.
The MINE Act and MINER Act, and regulations issued under these federal statutes, impose stringent health and safety standards on mining operations. The regulations that have been adopted under the MINE Act and the MINER Act are comprehensive and affect numerous aspects of mining operations, including training of mine personnel, mining procedures, roof control, ventilation, blasting, use and maintenance of mining equipment, dust and noise control, communications, emergency response procedures, and other matters. MSHA regularly inspects mines to ensure compliance with regulations promulgated under the MINE Act and MINER Act. In addition, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Wyoming all have similar programs for mine safety and health regulation and enforcement.
The various requirements mandated by federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations may place restrictions on our methods of operation and potentially result in fees and civil penalties for violations of such requirements or criminal liability for the knowing violation of such standards, significantly impacting operating costs and productivity. In addition, government inspectors have the authority to issue orders to shut down our operations based on safety considerations under certain circumstances, such as imminent dangers, accidents, failures to abate violations, and unwarrantable failures to comply with mandatory safety standards. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters—Mine Safety and Health.”
The regulations enacted under the MINE Act and MINER Act, as well as under similar state acts are routinely expanded, raising compliance costs and increasing potential liability. These existing and other future mine safety rules could potentially result in or require significant expenditures, as well as additional safety training and planning, enhanced safety equipment, more frequent mine inspections, stricter enforcement practices and enhanced reporting requirements. At this time, it is not possible to predict the full effect that new or proposed statutes, regulations and policies will have on our operating costs, but any expansion of existing regulations, or making such regulations more stringent may have a negative impact on the profitability of our operations. If we were to be found in violation of mine safety and health regulations, we could face penalties or restrictions that may materially and adversely impact our operations, financial results and liquidity.
We must also compensate employees for work-related injuries. State workers’ compensation acts typically provide for an exception to an employer’s immunity from civil lawsuits for workplace injuries in the case of intentional torts. In such situations, an injured worker would be able to bring suit against his or her employer for damages in excess of workers’ compensation benefits. In addition, West Virginia’s workers’ compensation act provides a much broader exception to workers’ compensation immunity, allowing an injured employee to recover against his or her employer if he or she can show damages caused by an unsafe working condition of which the employer was aware and that was a violation of a statute, regulation, rule or consensus industry standard. These types of lawsuits are not uncommon and could have a significant effect on our operating costs.
We have obtained from a third-party insurer a workers’ compensation insurance policy, which includes coverage for medical and disability benefits for black lung disease under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 and the MINE Act. We perform periodic evaluations of our black lung liability, using assumptions regarding rates of successfulclaims, discount factors, benefit increases and mortality rates, among others. Of note, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 significantly amended the black lung provisions of the MINE Act by reenacting two provisions, which had been eliminated in 1981. Under the amendments, a miner with at least fifteen years of underground coal mine employment (or surface mine employment with similar dust exposure) who can prove that he suffers from a totally disabling respiratory condition is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that his disability is caused by black lung. The other amendment provides that the surviving spouse of a miner who was collecting federal black lung
Table of Contents
benefits at the time of his death is entitled to a continuation of those benefits. These changes could have a material impact on our costs expended in association with the federal black lung program.
We have reclamation, mine closing, and related environmental obligations under the SMCRA. If the assumptions underlying our accruals are inaccurate, we could be required to expend greater amounts than anticipated.
The SMCRA establishes operational, reclamation and closure standards for our mining operations. The SMCRA requires that comprehensive environmental protection and reclamation standards be met during the course of and following completion of mining activities. Permits for all mining operations must be obtained from the OSMRE or, where state regulatory agencies have adopted federally approved state programs under the SMCRA, the appropriate state regulatory authority. Our operations are located in states which have achieved primary jurisdiction for enforcement of the SMCRA through approved state programs. See “Business—Environmental, Health and Safety and Other Regulatory Matters.”
In addition, the SMCRA imposes a reclamation fee on all current mining operations, the proceeds of which are deposited in the AML Fund, which is used to restore unreclaimed and abandoned mine lands mined before 1977. The current per ton fee is $0.224 per ton for surface mined coal and $0.096 per ton for underground mined coal. These fees are currently scheduled to be in effect until September 30, 2034, and on November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”), which included the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Amendments of 2021, extended OSMRE’s statutory authority to collect reclamation fees for an additional 13 years and to reduce the fee rates.
We accrue for the costs of current mine disturbance and of final mine closure, including the cost of treating mine water discharge where necessary. The amounts recorded are dependent upon a number of variables, including the estimated future closure costs, estimated proven reserves, assumptions involving profit margins, inflation rates, and the assumed credit-adjusted risk-free interest rates. If these accruals are insufficient or our liability in a particular year is greater than currently anticipated, our future operating results could be adversely affected. We are also required to post bonds for the cost of a coal mine as a condition of our mining activities.
Risks Related to Our Company
Our ability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock may be limited by the amount of cash we generate from operations following the payment of fees and expenses, by restrictions in debt instruments and by additional factors unrelated to our profitability.
We have paid quarterly dividends at various times in the past and may pay additional special and regular quarterly dividends in the future. Our ability to pay dividends is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and the requirements of applicable law. The timing and amount of dividends declared will depend on, among other things: (a) our earnings, earnings outlook, financial condition, production, processing and shipping levels, cash flow, cash requirements and our outlook on current and future market conditions, (b) our liquidity, including our ability to obtain debt and equity financing on acceptable terms, (c) restrictive covenants in our Credit and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with KeyBank National Association, as the administrative agent, and other lenders party thereto, and any future debt instruments and (d) provisions of applicable law governing the payment of dividends.
The metallurgical coal industry is highly volatile, and we cannot predict with certainty the amount of cash, if any, that will be available for distribution as dividends in any period. Also, there may be a high degree of variability from period to period in the amount of cash, if any, that is available for the payment of dividends. The amount of cash we generate from operations and the actual amount of cash we will have available for dividends will vary based upon, among other things:
risks related to the impact of pandemics such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, including with regard to the scope and duration of the outbreak, the health and safety of our employees, government actions and restrictive measures implemented in response, delays and cancellations of customer sales, supply chain disruptions and other impacts to the business, or our ability to execute our business continuity plans;
Table of Contents
the development of our properties into producing coal mines;
the ability to begin generating significant revenues and operating cash flows;
the market price for coal;
overall domestic and global economic conditions, including the supply of and demand for domestic and foreign coal, coke and steel;
unexpected operational events or geological conditions;
cost overruns;
our ability to enter into agreements governing the sale of coal, which are generally short-term in nature and subject to fluctuations in market pricing;
the level of our operating costs;
prevailing global and regional economic and political conditions;
changes in interest rates;
the impact of domestic and foreign governmental laws and regulations, including environmental and climate change regulations and regulations affecting the coal mining industry;
delays in the receipt of, failure to receive, failure to maintain or revocation of necessary governmental permits;
modification or revocation of our dividend policy by our board of directors; and
the amount of any cash reserves established by our board of directors.
The amount of cash we generate from our operations may differ materially from our net income or loss for the period, which will be affected by non-cash items. We may incur other expenses or liabilities that could reduce or eliminate the cash available for distribution as dividends.
In addition, financing agreements may prohibit the payment of dividends if an event of default has occurred and is continuing or would occur as a result of the payment of such dividends.
In addition, Section 170 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) allows our board of directors to declare and pay dividends on the shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock either (a) out of our surplus, as defined in and computed in accordance with the DGCL or (b) in case there shall be no such surplus, out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. We may not have sufficient surplus or net profits in the future to pay dividends, and our subsidiaries may not have sufficient funds, surplus or net profits to make distributions to us. As a result of these and the other factors mentioned above, we can give no assurance that dividends will be paid in the future.
Your percentage of ownership in us may be diluted in the future.
Your percentage of ownership in us may be diluted because of equity issuances for acquisitions, capital market transactions or otherwise, including, without limitation, equity awards that we may be granting to our directors, officers and employees, the conversion of our 2031 Convertible Senior Notes into Class A common stock, and the conversion of our Class B common stock into Class A common stock. Such issuances may have a dilutive effect on our earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
It is anticipated that the compensation committee of the board of directors of the Company will grant additional equity awards to Company employees and directors, from time to time, under the Company’s compensation and employee benefit plans. These additional awards will have a dilutive effect on the Company’s earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
The issuance of shares of our Class A common stock upon conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes will dilute the ownership interests of our stockholders and have a dilutive effect on the Company’s earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended Charter”) permits our Board, in its sole discretion, to convert all of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock based on an exchange ratio determined by a 20-day trailing VWAP for each class of stock. Such conversion of
Table of Contents
Class B common stock into Class A common stock could have a dilutive effect on the Company’s earnings per share, which could adversely affect the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock.
In addition, our Amended Charter authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock having such designation, powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, including preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends and distributions, as our board of directors generally may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could dilute the voting power or reduce the value of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock. For example, we could grant the holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events or to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we could assign to holders of preferred stock could affect the residual value of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
Certain of our directors have significant duties with, and spend significant time serving, entities that may compete with us in seeking acquisitions and business opportunities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating time or pursuing business opportunities.
Certain of our directors hold positions of responsibility with other entities (including Yorktown-affiliated entities) that are in the business of identifying and acquiring coal reserves. The existing positions held by these directors may give rise to fiduciary or other duties that are in conflict with the duties they owe to us. These directors may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as to the other entities with which they are or may become affiliated. Due to these existing and potential future affiliations, they may present potential business opportunities to other entities prior to presenting them to us, which could cause additional conflicts of interest. They may also decide that certain opportunities are more appropriate for other entities with which they are affiliated, and as a result, they may elect not to present those opportunities to us. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor.
Our Amended Charter and bylaws, as well as Delaware law, contain provisions that could discourage acquisition bids or merger proposals, which may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
Our Amended Charter authorizes our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval. If our board of directors elects to issue preferred stock, it could be more difficult for a third-party to acquire us. In addition, some provisions of our Amended Charter and bylaws could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire control of us, even if the change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders, including:
limitations on the removal of directors;
limitations on the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings;
establishing advance notice provisions for stockholder proposals and nominations for elections to the board of directors to be acted upon at meetings of stockholders;
providing that the board of directors is expressly authorized to adopt, or to alter or repeal our bylaws; and
establishing advance notice and certain information requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.
Our Amended Charter designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.
Our Amended Charter provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of
Table of Contents
breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Amended Charter or our bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to such Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to a cause of action brought under federal or state securities laws. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our Amended Charter described in the preceding sentence. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our Amended Charter inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, such failure could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could harm our business and have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
As described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, management identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting related to an insufficiency of appropriately qualified and trained professionals to perform certain control activities necessary to achieve our control objectives. The Company implemented remediation efforts during 2025 to address the material weakness and completed the testing of the design and operating effectiveness of the respective controls. As of December 31, 2025, we concluded that the controls are adequately designed, implemented, and have operated effectively for a sufficient period of time to remediate this previously reported material weakness. Therefore, we concluded that the previously identified material weakness has been remediated as of December 31, 2025. However, our remedial actions may not prevent this or similar weaknesses from occurring in the future.
We are required to comply with a variety of reporting, accounting and other rules and regulations. As a result, we maintain a system of internal control over financial reporting, but there are limitations inherent in internal control systems and significant deficiencies or material weaknesses are possible. A control system can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. In addition, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefit of controls must be appropriate relative to their costs. Furthermore, compliance with existing requirements is expensive and we may need to implement additional finance and accounting and other systems, procedures and controls to satisfy our reporting requirements. If our internal control over financial reporting is determined to be ineffective, or if we are unable to appropriately or timely remediate any such effectiveness, such failure could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, negatively affect the market price of our common stock, subject us to regulatory investigations and penalties, require us to expend significant resources to remediate the deficiencies, impair our access to capital and otherwise materially adversely impact us.
Risks Related to Our Class B Common Stock Structure
Holders of Class B common stock are common stockholders of the Company and, therefore, are subject to risks associated with an investment in the Company as a whole, even if the holder does not own shares of Class A common stock.
We retain legal title to all of our assets and our tracking stock capitalization does not limit our legal responsibility, or that of our subsidiaries, for the liabilities included in any set of financial statement schedules. Holders of Class B common stock do not have any legal rights related to specific assets attributed to CORE and, in any liquidation, holders of Class B common stock and Class A common stock will be entitled to receive a pro rata share of our available net assets based on their respective numbers of shares.
Table of Contents
Our Board’s ability to reattribute businesses, assets and expenses between the Class A common stock and Class B common stock may make it difficult to assess the future prospects of a class of common stock based on past performance.
Our Board currently expects to attribute 100% of the costs associated with the CORE Assets to Ramaco Resources and zero such costs to CORE; however, our Board is vested with discretion to reattribute businesses, assets and liabilities that are attributed to one class of common stock to another class of common stock, without the approval of any of our stockholders. Any such reattribution made by our Board, as well as the existence, in and of itself, of the right to effect a reattribution may impact the ability of investors to assess the future prospects of the businesses and assets attributed to a class of common stock, including liquidity and capital resource needs to pay the projected dividend to holders of our Class B common stock, based on past performance. Stockholders may also have difficulty evaluating the liquidity and capital resources of the businesses and assets attributed to each class of common stock based on past performance, as our Board may use the liquidity of one class to fund the liquidity of another class and capital expenditure requirements through the use of loans and interests between classes.
We could be required to use assets attributed to one class of common stock to pay liabilities attributed to another class.
The assets attributed to one class are potentially subject to the liabilities attributed to another class, even if those liabilities arise from lawsuits, contracts or indebtedness that are attributed to such other class. No provision of our Amended Charter prevents us from satisfying liabilities of one class with assets of another class, and our creditors will not in any way be limited by our tracking stock capitalization from proceeding against any assets they could have proceeded against if we did not have a tracking stock capitalization.
Dividends on our Class B common stock are discretionary and may fluctuate materially quarter to quarter. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to pay dividends in the future or what the actual dividends will be for any future periods.
Our ability to pay dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board, the requirements of applicable law, any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends, any prior rights and preferences that may be applicable to any outstanding preferred stock and commercial factors, whether or not attributable to the CORE Assets. We may lack sufficient cash to pay dividends to our Class B stockholders due to cash flow shortfalls attributable to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, as well as increases in corporate level general and administrative expenses, principal and interest payments on our outstanding debt, tax expenses, working capital requirements and anticipated cash needs. The timing and amount of dividends declared in future periods will depend on, among other things, (a) our earnings, earnings outlook, production, processing and shipping levels, financial condition, cash flow, cash requirements and our outlook on current and future market conditions, (b) our overall liquidity, (c) the restrictive covenants in the Second Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement and any future debt instruments that we may enter into and (d) provisions of applicable law governing the dividends. We have not established a minimum dividend payment for any class of our Common Stock, including our Class B common stock. Further our ability to pay and the amount of dividends declared in future periods may be harmed by other risk factors described herein and incorporated by reference herein. Our ability to pay dividends may fluctuate materially from quarter to quarter, and any quarterly estimate is subject to uncertainty due to the factors described above and elsewhere herein.
The market price of the Class B common stock may not reflect the performance of CORE attributed to it, as we intend.
We cannot assure the holders of Class B common stock that the market price of the Class B common stock related to CORE will, in fact, reflect the performance of CORE attributed to it. Holders of Class B common stock are common stockholders of the Company as a whole and, as such, are subject to all risks associated with an investment in the Company and all of our businesses, assets and liabilities. As a result, the market price of Class B common stock may, in part, reflect events that are intended to be reflected by the Class A common stock of the Company. In addition, investors may discount the value of Class B common stock because it is part of a common enterprise rather than a stand-alone entity.
Table of Contents
The market price of the Class B common stock has been volatile, has fluctuated substantially, and could be affected by factors that do not affect traditional common stock.
To the extent the market price of the Class B common stock tracks the performance of more focused classes of businesses and assets than our Class A common stock does, the market price of the Class B common stock may be more volatile than the market price of our existing common stock has been historically. The market price of the Class B common stock may be materially affected by, among other things:
actual or anticipated fluctuations in CORE’s operating results;
potential acquisition activity by the Company (regardless of the class to which it is attributed) or the companies in which we invest;
issuances of debt or equity securities to raise capital by the Company or the companies in which we invest and the manner in which that debt or the proceeds of an equity issuance are attributed to each of the classes;
changes in financial estimates by securities analysts regarding the Class B common stock, the Class A common stock or CORE attributable to the Class B common stock;
the complex nature and the potential difficulties investors may have in understanding the terms of our new tracking stock, as well as concerns regarding the possible effect of certain of those terms on an investment in our stocks; and
general market conditions.
The market value of the Class B common stock could be adversely affected by events involving the other assets and businesses of the Company.
Because we are the issuer of the Class B common stock, an adverse market reaction to events relating to any of our assets and businesses, such as earnings announcements or announcements of new products or services, acquisitions or dispositions that the market does not view favorably, may cause an adverse market reaction in a particular class of common stock. This could occur even if the triggering event is not material to us as a whole. Certain events may also have a greater impact on one class than the same triggering event would have on another class due to the asset composition of the affected class. In addition, the incurrence of significant indebtedness by us or any of our subsidiaries on behalf of one class, including indebtedness incurred or assumed in connection with acquisitions of or investments in businesses, could affect our credit rating and that of our subsidiaries and, therefore, could increase the borrowing costs of businesses attributable to our other classes or the borrowing costs of the Company as a whole.
We may not pay dividends equally or at all on our classes of common stock.
We have the right to pay dividends on the shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock in equal or unequal amounts, and we may pay dividends on one class of common stock and not pay dividends on another class. In addition, any dividends or distributions on, or repurchases of, shares relating to a class will reduce our assets legally available to be paid as dividends on another class.
Our tracking stock capital structure could create conflicts of interest, and our Board may make decisions that could adversely affect only the holders of one class of our common stock.
Our tracking stock capital structure could give rise to occasions when the interests of holders of one class of common stock might diverge or appear to diverge from the interests of holders of another class of common stock. Our Class B common stock is not issued by a separate entity and thus holders of Class B common stock do not have the right to elect a separate board of directors. As a result, the Company’s officers and directors owe fiduciary duties to the
Table of Contents
Company as a whole and all of our stockholders as opposed to only holders of a particular class of common stock. Decisions deemed to be in the best interest of the Company and all of our stockholders may not be in the best interest of a particular class of common stock when considered independently. Examples include:
decisions as to the terms of any business relationships between classes of common stock;
the terms of any reattributions of assets between classes of common stock;
decisions as to the allocation of consideration among the holders of Class B common stock and Class A common stock to be received in connection with a merger involving the Company;
decisions as to the allocation of corporate opportunities between the classes, especially where the opportunities might meet the strategic business objectives of both classes;
decisions as to operational and financial matters that could be considered detrimental to one class but beneficial to the other;
decisions as to the conversion of shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock;
decisions regarding the creation of, and, if created, the subsequent increase or decrease of any interest that one class of common stock may own in the other class of common stock;
decisions as to the internal or external financing attributable to businesses or assets attributed to any of our classes of common stock;
decisions as to the dispositions of assets of any of our classes of common stock; and
decisions as to the payment of dividends on any of our classes of common stock.
Our directors’ or officers’ equity ownership may create or appear to create conflicts of interest.
If directors or officers own disproportionate interests (in percentage or value terms) in Class A common stock or Class B common stock, that disparity could create or appear to create conflicts of interest when they are faced with decisions that could have different implications for the holders of Class A common stock or Class B common stock.
We have not adopted any specific procedures for consideration of matters involving a divergence of interests among holders of Class A common stock or Class B common stock. Rather than develop additional specific procedures in advance, our Board intends to exercise its judgment from time to time, depending on the circumstances, as to how best to:
obtain information regarding the divergence (or potential divergence) of interests;
determine under what circumstances to seek the assistance of outside advisers;
determine whether a committee of our Board should be appointed to address a specific matter and the appropriate members of that committee; and
assess what is in the Company’s best interests and the best interests of all of our stockholders.
Our Board believes the advantage of retaining flexibility in determining how to fulfill its responsibilities in any such circumstances as they may arise outweighs any perceived advantages of adopting additional specific procedures in advance.
Table of Contents
Our Board does not expect to formally adopt any management or allocation policies with respect to the CORE Assets.
The Board does not expect to formally adopt any management or allocation policies with respect to the CORE Assets to serve as guidelines in making decisions regarding the relationship between the Company’s overall business and CORE with respect to matters such as tax liabilities and benefits, loans between the two, attribution of assets, financing alternatives, corporate opportunities and similar items. Such determinations are in the sole discretion of our Board and our Board may at any time change or make exceptions to the relationship between CORE and Ramaco Resources. A decision to change, or make exceptions to, these arrangements could disadvantage one class of stockholder while advantaging the other.
Holders of a class of common stock may not have any remedies if any action by our directors or officers has an adverse effect on only that class of common stock.
Principles of applicable law and the provisions of our Amended Charter may protect decisions of our Board that have a disparate impact upon a particular class of common stock. Under applicable law, our Board has a duty to act with due care and in the best interests of all of our stockholders, regardless of the class of stock, or series, they hold. Principles of applicable law established in cases involving differing treatment of multiple classes or series of stock provide that a Board owes an equal duty to all stockholders and does not have separate or additional duties to any subset of stockholders. Judicial opinions in Delaware involving tracking stocks have established that decisions by directors or officers involving differing treatment of holders of tracking stocks may be judged under the business judgment rule. In some circumstances, our directors or officers may be required to make a decision that is viewed as adverse to the holders of a particular series of that stock. Under the principles of applicable law and the business judgment rule referred to above, the holders of Class B common stock may not be able to successfullychallenge decisions that they believe have a disparate impact upon the stockholders of one of our classes if a majority of our Board is disinterested and independent with respect to the action taken, is adequately informed with respect to the action taken and acts in good faith and in the honest belief that our Board is acting in the best interest of the Company and all of our stockholders.
Stockholders will not vote on how to attribute consideration received in connection with a merger involving the Company among holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
Our Amended Charter does not contain any provisions governing how consideration received in connection with a merger or consolidation involving the Company is to be distributed to the holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, and none of the holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will have a separate class vote in the event of such a merger or consolidation. Consistent with applicable principles of applicable law, our Board will seek to divide the type and amount of consideration received in a merger or consolidation involving the Company among holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock in a fair manner. As the different ways our Board may divide the consideration between holders of the different classes of stock might have materially different results, the consideration to be received by holders of Class B common stock in any such merger or consolidation may be materially less valuable than the consideration they would have received if they had a separate class vote on such merger or consolidation.
We may dispose of assets of CORE without the approval of the Class B common stockholders.
Applicable law requires stockholder approval only for a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company taken as a whole, and our Amended Charter does not require a separate class vote in the case of a sale of a significant amount of assets attributed to any of our classes of common stock. As long as the assets attributed to a certain class of common stock proposed to be disposed of represent less than substantially all of our assets, we may approve sales and other dispositions of any amount of the assets of such class without any stockholder approval.
Our Board will decide, in its sole discretion, how to proceed and is not required to select the option that would result in the highest value to holders of any particular class of stock.
Table of Contents
Holders of Class B common stock may receive less consideration upon a sale of the assets attributed to that class than if that class were a separate company.
If CORE was a separate, independent company and its shares were acquired by another person, certain costs of that sale, including corporate level taxes, might not be payable in connection with that acquisition. As a result, stockholders of a separate, independent company with the same assets might receive a greater amount of proceeds than the holders of Class B common stock would receive upon a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of CORE. In addition, we cannot assure the holders of Class B common stock that in the event of such a sale the per share consideration to be paid to holders of Class B common stock will be equal to or more than the per share value of that share of stock prior to or after the announcement of a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of CORE. Further, there is no requirement that the consideration paid be tax-free to the holders of Class B common stock. Accordingly, if we sell all or substantially all of the assets attributed to CORE, our Class B stockholders could suffer a loss in the value of their investment in our Class B common stock.
In the event of a liquidation of Ramaco Resources, holders of Class B common stock will not have a priority with respect to the assets attributed to CORE remaining for distribution to stockholders.
Under the Amended Charter, upon Ramaco Resources’ liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will be entitled to receive, in respect of their shares of such stock, their proportionate interest in all of Ramaco Resources’ assets, if any, remaining for distribution to holders of common stock in proportion to their respective number of shares. Hence, the assets to be distributed to a holder of either class of common stock upon a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Ramaco Resources will have nothing to do with the value of the assets attributed to the class of common stock or to changes in the relative value of the Class B common stock over time.
Our Board may, in its sole discretion, elect to convert the Class B common stock to Class A common stock, thereby changing the nature of an investment in the Class B common stock and possibly diluting the economic interest in the Company of Class B common stockholders, which could result in a loss in value to such holders.
Our Amended Charter permits our Board, in its sole discretion, to convert all of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock based on an exchange ratio determined by a 20-day trailing VWAP for each class of stock. A conversion would preclude the holders of Class B common stock from retaining their investment in a security that is intended to reflect separately the performance of CORE. We cannot predict the impact on the market value of our stock of (1) our Board’s ability to effect any such conversion or (2) the exercise of this conversion right by our Board. In addition, our Board may effect such a conversion at a time when the market value of our different stocks could cause the stockholders of one group to be disadvantaged.
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together and have limited separate voting rights.
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together as a single class, except in certain limited circumstances prescribed under applicable law. When holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together as a single class, holders having a majority of the votes will be in a position to control the outcome of the vote even if the matter involves a conflict of interest among our stockholders or has a greater impact on one class than another.
Transactions in Class B common stock by our insiders could depress the market price of those stocks.
Sales of, or hedging transactions such as collars relating to, shares of Class B common stock by any of our directors or executive officers, could cause a perception in the marketplace that the stock price of the Class B common stock has peaked or that adverse events or trends have occurred or may be occurring at the Company or with respect to the Class B common stock. This perception can result notwithstanding any personal financial motivation for these transactions. As a result, insider transactions could depress the market price for shares of the Class B common stock.
Table of Contents
Our capital structure, as well as the fact that CORE is not an independent company, may inhibit or prevent acquisition bids for CORE attributed to the Class B common stock and may make it difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so may be beneficial to our stockholders.
If CORE were a separate independent company, any person interested in acquiring CORE without negotiating with management could seek control of that class by obtaining control of its outstanding voting stock, by means of a tender offer or a proxy contest. Although we intend Class B common stock to reflect the separate economic performance of CORE, it is not a separate entity, and a person interested in acquiring that class of common stock without negotiation with our management could obtain control of that class only by obtaining control of a majority in voting power of all of the outstanding voting shares of the Company. The existence of different classes of common stock could present complexities and in certain circumstances pose obstacles, financial and otherwise, to an acquiring person that are not present in companies that do not have a capital structure similar to ours.
Certain provisions of our Amended Charter and bylaws may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control of the Company that a stockholder may consider favorable.
These provisions include:
authorizing a capital structure with multiple classes of common stock: a Class A common stock and Class B common stock;
classifying our Board with staggered three-year terms, which may lengthen the time required to gain control of our Board;
prohibiting stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders;
limiting who may call special meetings of stockholders;
establishing advance notice requirements for nominations of candidates for election to our Board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings;
requiring stockholder approval by holders of at least 66 2/3% of our aggregate voting power with respect to certain extraordinary matters, such as an amendment to our Amended Charter (excluding amendments to Section 4.1 thereof) or bylaws, and the approval by holders of at least 75% of our aggregate voting power for the removal of a director; and
the existence of authorized and unissued stock, including “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our Board to persons friendly to our then current management, thereby protecting the continuity of our management, or which could be used to dilute the stock ownership of persons seeking to obtain control of the Company.
Risks Related to Our Senior Notes (including 2031 Convertible Senior Notes)
The terms of the indentures governing our Senior Notes and the agreements and instruments governing our other indebtedness, including the Credit Agreement, and surety bonding obligations impose restrictions that may limit our operating and financial flexibility.
The indentures governing our Senior Notes and the agreements governing our other indebtedness, including the Credit Agreement, and surety bonding obligations contain certain restrictions and covenants which restrict our ability to incur liens and/or debt or provide guarantees in respect of obligations of any other person and other restrictions, all of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business, as well as significantly affect our liquidity, and therefore could adversely affect our results of operations.
Table of Contents
These covenants limit, among other things, our ability to:
incur additional indebtedness under certain circumstances;
pay dividends on or make distributions in respect of stock or make certain other restricted payments, such as share repurchases;
make capital investments;
enter into agreements that restrict distributions from certain subsidiaries;
sell or otherwise dispose of assets;
use for general purposes the cash received from certain allowable asset sales or disposals;
enter into transactions with affiliates;
create or incur liens;
merge, consolidate or sell all or substantially all of our assets; and
receive dividends or other payments from subsidiaries in certain cases.
Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control and we may need to refinance existing debt in the future. A breach of any of the covenants under the indentures together with the expiration of any cure period, if applicable, could result in a default under our indentures. If any such default occurs, subject to applicable grace periods, the holders of our Senior Notes may elect to declare all outstanding Senior Notes, together with accrued interest and other amounts payable thereunder, to be immediately due and payable. If the obligations under our Senior Notes were to be accelerated, our financial resources may be insufficient to repay the Senior Notes and any other indebtedness becoming due in full.
In addition, if we breach the covenants in any indenture governing the Senior Notes and do not cure such breach within the applicable time periods specified therein, we would cause an event of default under the indentures governing the Senior Notes and a cross-default to certain of our other indebtedness and the lenders or holders thereunder could accelerate their obligations. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not be able to repay our indebtedness or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms or on terms that are acceptable to us. If our indebtedness is in default for any reason, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, complying with these covenants may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy and compete against companies who are not subject to such restrictions.
We may be able to incur substantially more debt, which could have important consequences to you.
We may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of the indentures governing the Senior Notes do not prohibit us from doing so. If we incur any additional indebtedness that ranks equally with the Senior Notes, the holders of that debt will be entitled to share ratably with holders of our Senior Notes in any proceeds distributed in connection with any insolvency, liquidation, reorganization or dissolution. This may have the effect of reducing the amount of proceeds paid to holders of our Senior Notes. Incurrence of additional debt would also further reduce the cash available to invest in operations, as a result of increased debt service obligations. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could intensify.
Our level of indebtedness could have important consequences to our stockholders and holders of our Senior Notes, because:
it could affect our ability to satisfy our financial obligations, including those relating to the Senior Notes;
a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations would have to be dedicated to interest and principal payments and may not be available for operations, capital expenditures, expansion, acquisitions or general corporate or other purposes;
it may impair our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing in the future;
it may limit our ability to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before maturity;
Table of Contents
it may limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry; and
it may make us more vulnerable to downturns in our business, our industry or the economy in general.
Our operations may not generate sufficient cash to enable us to service our debt. If we fail to make a payment on the Senior Notes, we could be in default on the Senior Notes, and this default could cause us to be in default on other indebtedness, to the extent outstanding. Conversely, a default under any other indebtedness, if not waived, could result in acceleration of the debt outstanding under the related agreement and entitle the holders thereof to bring suit for the enforcement thereof or exercise other remedies provided thereunder. In addition, such default or acceleration may, subject to certain thresholds, result in an event of default and acceleration of the Senior Notes and of other indebtedness of the Company, entitling the holders thereof to bring suit for the enforcement thereof or exercise other remedies provided thereunder. If a judgment is obtained by any such holders, such holders could seek to collect on such judgment from the assets of the Company. If that should occur, we may not be able to pay all such debt or to borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if new financing were then available, it may not be on terms that are acceptable to us.
Our future indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and ability to meet our payment obligations under the Senior Notes and our other debt.
The use of debt could have significant consequences on our future operations, including:
making it more difficult for us to meet our payment and other obligations under the Senior Notes and our other outstanding indebtedness;
resulting in an event of default if we fail to comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants contained in our financing arrangements, which event of default could result in substantially all of our debt becoming immediately due and payable;
reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund investments, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes, and limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for these purposes;
subjecting us to the risk of increased sensitivity to interest rate increases on our indebtedness with variable interest rates, including borrowings under our financing arrangements;
limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, and increasing our vulnerability to, changes in our business, the industry in which we operate and the general economy; and
any of the above-listed factors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to meet our payment obligations under the Senior Notes and our other debt.
Our ability to meet our payment and other obligations under our financing arrangements depends on our ability to generate significant cash flow in the future. This, to some extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us under our financing arrangements or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet our payment obligations under the Senior Notes and our other future debt and to fund other liquidity needs. If we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, including the Senior Notes, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under the Senior Notes and our other debt.
Table of Contents
The Senior Notes are unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness that we currently have or that we may incur in the future and rank pari passu with, which means equal to, all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by us and our general liabilities.
The Senior Notes are not secured by any of our assets or any of the assets of our subsidiaries. As a result, the Senior Notes are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness that we or our subsidiaries currently have outstanding, including indebtedness under our Revolving Credit Facility, equipment loans, and insurance financing arrangements, or may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. The indentures governing the Senior Notes do not prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional secured (or unsecured) indebtedness in the future. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness and may consequently receive payment from these assets before they may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Senior Notes. The Senior Notes rank pari passu with, which means equal to, all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by us.
The Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries.
The Senior Notes are obligations exclusively of Ramaco Resources, Inc. and not of any of our subsidiaries. None of our subsidiaries is a guarantor of the Senior Notes, and the Senior Notes are not required to be guaranteed by any subsidiaries we may acquire or create in the future. Therefore, in any bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, all claims of creditors (including trade creditors) of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such subsidiaries (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Senior Notes) with respect to the assets of such subsidiaries. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of our subsidiaries, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such subsidiary and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such subsidiary senior to our claims. Consequently, the Senior Notes are structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities (including trade payables) of any of our subsidiaries and any subsidiaries that we may in the future acquire or establish as financing vehicles or otherwise. The indentures governing the Senior Notes do not prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness in the future. In addition, future debt and security agreements entered into by our subsidiaries may contain various restrictions, including restrictions on payments by our subsidiaries to us and the transfer by our subsidiaries of assets pledged as collateral.
Our subsidiaries conduct the substantial majority of our operations and own our operating assets.
Our subsidiaries conduct the substantial majority of our operations and own our operating assets. As a result, our ability to make required payments on the Senior Notes depends in part on the operations of our subsidiaries and our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute funds to us. To the extent our subsidiaries are unable to distribute, or are restricted from distributing, funds to us, we may be unable to fulfill our obligations under the Senior Notes. Our subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities and have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to pay amounts due on the Senior Notes or to make funds available for that purpose. The Senior Notes are not guaranteed by any of our subsidiaries or any other person.
The indentures under which the Senior Notes have been issued contain limited protection for holders of the Senior Notes.
The indentures under which the Senior Notes have been issued offer limited protection to holders of the Senior Notes. The terms of the indentures and the Senior Notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have an adverse impact on holders of the Senior Notes. In particular, the terms of the indentures and the Senior Notes do not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries’ ability to:
issue debt securities or otherwise incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, including (1) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be equal in right of payment to the Senior Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of
Table of Contents
payment to the Senior Notes to the extent of the value of the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness of ours that is guaranteed by one or more of our subsidiaries and which therefore is structurally senior to the Senior Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries that would be senior to our equity interests in our subsidiaries and therefore rank structurally senior to the Senior Notes with respect to the assets of our subsidiaries;
pay dividends on, or purchase or redeem or make any payments in respect of, capital stock or other securities subordinated in right of payment to the Senior Notes;
sell assets (other than certain limited restrictions on our ability to consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets);
enter into transactions with affiliates;
create liens (including liens on the shares of our subsidiaries) or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;
make investments; or
create restrictions on the payment of dividends or other amounts to us from our subsidiaries.
In addition, the indentures do not include any protection against certain events, such as a change of control, a leveraged recapitalization or “going private” transaction (which may result in a significant increase of our indebtedness levels), restructuring or similar transactions. Furthermore, the terms of the indentures and the Senior Notes do not protect holders of the Senior Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, as they do not require that we or our subsidiaries adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity. Also, an event of default or acceleration under our other indebtedness would not necessarily result in an event of default under the Senior Notes.
Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Senior Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Senior Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Senior Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Senior Notes.
Other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indentures and the Senior Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Senior Notes.
An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the value of the Senior Notes.
The condition of the financial markets and prevailing interest rates have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the future, which could have an adverse effect on the market prices of the Senior Notes. In general, as market interest rates rise, debt securities bearing interest at fixed rates of interest decline in value. Consequently, if you purchase Notes bearing interest at fixed rates and market interest rates increase, the market values of those Notes may decline. We cannot predict the future level of market interest rates.
If we default on our obligations to pay our other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Senior Notes.
Any default under the agreements governing our indebtedness, including a default under any future credit facility or other indebtedness to which we may be a party that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Senior Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Senior Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and
Table of Contents
interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness, including the Senior Notes. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, the lender under any future credit facility or other debt we may incur in the future could elect to terminate its commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. In addition, any such default may constitute a default under the Senior Notes, which could further limit our ability to repay our debt, including the Senior Notes. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from the lender under debt that we may incur in the future (for example, under a credit facility) to avoid being in default. If we breach our covenants under such debt and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under the debt, the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because any future credit facilities will likely have customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness under the Senior Notes or under any future credit facility is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.
A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of a credit rating assigned by a rating agency to us or the Senior Notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Senior Notes to decline significantly.
Our credit ratings, if any, are an assessment by rating agencies of our ability to pay our debts when due. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of the Senior Notes. These credit ratings may not reflect the potential impact of risks relating to the structure or marketing of the Senior Notes. Credit ratings are paid for by the issuer and are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization in its sole discretion. An explanation of the significance of ratings may be obtained from the rating agency. Generally, rating agencies base their ratings on such material and information, and such of their own investigations, studies and assumptions, as they deem appropriate. We do not undertake any obligation to maintain our credit ratings or to advise holders of Senior Notes of any changes in our credit ratings. There can be no assurance that our credit ratings will remain for any given period of time or that such credit ratings will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by the rating agency if in their judgment future circumstances relating to the basis of the credit ratings, such as adverse changes in our company, so warrant.
Credit ratings for the Senior Notes could at any time be revised downward or withdrawn entirely at the discretion of the issuing rating agency.
Credit ratings only reflect the views of the issuing rating agency or agencies, and such ratings could at any time be revised downward or withdrawn entirely at the discretion of the issuing rating agency. A rating is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold the Senior Notes. Credit ratings do not reflect market prices or suitability of a security for a particular investor and the rating of the Senior Notes may not reflect all risks related to us and our business, or the structure or market value of the Senior Notes. We may elect to issue other securities for which we may seek to obtain a rating in the future. If we issue other securities with a credit rating, such ratings, if they are lower than market expectations or are subsequently lowered or withdrawn, could adversely affect the market for or the market value of the Senior Notes.
The conditional conversion feature of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, if triggered, may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In the event the conditional conversion feature of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes is triggered, noteholders will be entitled to convert the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes at any time during specified periods at their option. If one or more holders elect to convert their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, we may, to the extent permitted by, and subject to compliance with the terms of, the agreement governing the Revolving Credit Facility and our other indebtedness in existence at such time, settle a portion or all of our conversion obligation in cash, shares of our Class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares, at our election and in accordance with the Indenture, and any cash paid could adversely affect our liquidity.
Table of Contents
The issuance or sale of shares of our Class A common stock, or rights to acquire shares of our Class A common stock, could depress the trading price of our Class A common stock and the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes.
We may conduct future offerings of our Class A common stock, preferred stock, or other securities that are convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, our Class A common stock to finance our operations, fund acquisitions, or for other purposes. The sale of shares of our Class A common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our Class A common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. In addition, upon conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, we will pay consideration that consists of cash, shares of our Class A common stock, or a combination of cash and shares of our Class A common stock (together with cash in lieu of any fractional shares, if applicable), at our election. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional funds through future offerings of our shares of Class A common stock or other securities.
The Indenture governing the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes does not restrict our ability to issue additional equity securities. If we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or rights to acquire shares of our Class A common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sells a substantial amount of our Class A common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our Class A common stock, and, accordingly, the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes may significantly decline. In addition, our issuance of additional shares of Class A common stock will dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders, including noteholders who have received shares of our Class A common stock upon conversion of their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, and any Class A common stock issued upon conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes may dilute the interests of our existing common stockholders.
The accounting method for the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes could adversely affect our reported financial condition and results.
The accounting method for reflecting the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes on our balance sheet, accruing interest expense for the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and reflecting the underlying shares of our Class A common stock in our reported diluted earnings per share may adversely affect our reported earnings and financial condition.
In accordance with applicable accounting standards, the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes are reflected as a liability on our balance sheets, with the initial carrying amount equal to the principal amount of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, net of issuance costs. The issuance costs are treated as a debt discount for accounting purposes, which will be amortized into interest expense over the term of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes resulting in lower reported income.
In addition, the potential dilutive shares underlying the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes are reflected in our diluted earnings per share using the “if converted” method. The denominator of diluted earnings per share for the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes is determined by multiplying the principal amount of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes by the applicable conversion rate for the reporting period. The after-tax interest expense associated with the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes is added back to the numerator of the diluted earnings per share calculation for these purposes. However, if reflecting the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes in diluted earnings per share in this manner is anti-dilutive, then the shares underlying the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes will not be reflected in our diluted earnings per share. The application of the if-converted method may reduce our reported diluted earnings per share, and accounting standards may change in the future in a manner that may adversely affect our diluted earnings per share.
Furthermore, if any of the conditions to the convertibility of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes is satisfied, then we may be required under applicable accounting standards to reclassify the liability carrying value of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes as a current, rather than a long-term liability. This reclassification could be required even if no noteholders convert their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and could materially reduce our reported working capital.
Table of Contents
Provisions in the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and the Indenture governing the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
Certain provisions in the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and its Indenture could make a third-party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover constitutes a “fundamental change,” then noteholders will have the right to require us to repurchase their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes for cash. In addition, if a takeover constitutes a “make-whole fundamental change” (as defined in the Indenture), then we may be required to temporarily increase the conversion rate. In either case, and in other cases, our obligations under the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and the Indenture could increase the cost of acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us or removing incumbent management, including in a transaction that noteholders or holders of our Class A common stock may view as favorable.
The capped call transactions may affect the value of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and our Class A common stock.
In connection with the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, we entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with the option counterparties. The capped call transactions cover, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments, the number of shares of our Class A common stock underlying the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes. The capped call transactions are expected generally to reduce the potential dilution to our Class A common stock upon any conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and/or offset any potential cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, as the case may be, as a result of conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, with such offset subject to a cap.
We have been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the option counterparties or their respective affiliates entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our Class A common stock and/or purchased shares of our Class A common stock.
In addition, the counterparties and/or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our Class A common stock and/or purchasing or selling our Class A common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions following the pricing of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes and prior to the maturity of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes (and are likely to do so (i) during any observation period related to a conversion of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes or following any redemption or fundamental change repurchase of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, (ii) following any other repurchase of the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes if we unwind a corresponding portion of the capped call transactions in connection with such repurchase and (iii) if we otherwise unwind all or a portion of the capped call transactions). This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our Class A common stock or the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes.
We are subject to counterparty risk with respect to the capped call transactions.
The counterparties to the capped call transactions are financial institutions, or their affiliates, and we will be subject to the risk that one or more of the counterparties may default or otherwise fail to perform, or may exercise certain rights to terminate, their obligations under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the counterparties is not secured by any collateral.
Global economic conditions have in the past resulted in the actual or perceived potential failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If a counterparty to one or more capped call transactions becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under such transactions. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, our exposure will increase if the market price or the volatility of our Class A common stock increases. In addition, upon a default or other failure to perform, or a termination of obligations, by a counterparty, the counterparty may fail to deliver the shares of common stock required to be delivered to us under the capped call transactions and we may experience adverse tax consequences and more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our Class A common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of any of the counterparties.
Table of Contents
In addition, the capped call transactions are complex, and they may not operate as planned. For example, the terms of the capped call transactions may be subject to adjustment, modification or, in some cases, renegotiation if certain corporate or other transactions occur. Accordingly, these transactions may not operate as we intend if we are required to adjust their terms as a result of transactions in the future or upon unanticipated developments that may adversely affect the functioning of the capped call transactions.
General Risk Factors
Changes in tax legislation could have an adverse impact on our cash tax liabilities, results of operations or financial condition.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) reduced the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% and included certain other changes that resulted in a significant reduction of our income tax liability. The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (the “OBBBA”) extends many of the policies first enacted in the TCJA and introduces new rules that will impact our business. OBBBA provides for the temporary 2.5% Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit for metallurgical coal. The tax credit for metallurgical coal production is scheduled to terminate after December 31, 2029, limiting our ability to benefit from this incentive to a short window beginning in 2026. Other key provisions of OBBBA include, but are not limited to, (i) restoration of 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property (e.g., machinery and equipment) acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025, repealing the TCJA’s phase-down that began in 2023, and deduction of domestic research and experimental expenditures in the current period, (ii) new bonus depreciation election allowing the immediate expensing of 100% of the cost basis of “qualified production property” (e.g., manufacturing facilities placed in service in the United States), if construction commences after January 19, 2025, and before January 1, 2029, and the asset is placed in service before January 1, 2031, and (iii) favorable adjustments to the interest deduction rules by permanently restoring the pre-2022 deduction cap on interest expenses with respect to debt incurred in a trade or business to generally 30% of a taxpayer’s EBITDA (as opposed to 30% of EBIT, as required under prior law). The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) added a variety of incentives to promote clean energy, many of which will be reduced or eliminated under the OBBBA. The IRA also added a new corporate alternative minimum tax of 15% on adjusted financial statement income and an excise tax on share buybacks, both of which remain in effect under the OBBBA. Congress could, in the future, revise or repeal those changes or enact other tax law changes, such as the elimination of tax preferences currently available with respect to coal exploration and development and the percentage depletion allowance. We are unable to predict whether any such changes will ultimately be enacted, but any such changes could have a material impact on our cash tax liabilities, results of operations or financial condition.
Debt we incur in the future may limit our flexibility to obtain financing and to pursue other business opportunities.
Our future level of debt could have important consequences to us, including the following:
our ability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, for working capital, capital expenditures or other purposes may be impaired, or such financing may not be available on favorable terms;
our funds available for operations and future business opportunities will be reduced by that portion of our cash flow required to make interest payments on our debt;
our ability to pay dividends if an event of default occurs and is continuing or would occur as a result of paying such dividend;
we may be more vulnerable to competitive pressures or a downturn in our business or the economy generally; and
our flexibility in responding to changing business and economic conditions may be limited.
Our ability to service our debt will depend upon, among other things, our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. If our operating results are not sufficient to service any future indebtedness, we will be forced to take actions such as reducing or delaying our business activities, investments or
Table of Contents
capital expenditures, selling assets or issuing equity. We may not be able to effect any of these actions on satisfactory terms or at all.
The number and quality of viable financing and insurance alternatives available to us may be significantly impacted by unfavorable lending and investment policies by financial institutions and insurance companies associated with concerns about environmental impacts of coal combustion, and negative views around our efforts with respect to environmental and social matters and related governance considerations could harm the perception of our company by a significant number of investors or result in the exclusion of our securities from consideration by those investors.
Certain banks, other financing sources and insurance companies have taken actions to limit available financing and insurance coverage for the development of new coal-fueled power plants and coal producers and utilities that derive a majority of their revenue from coal, and particularly from thermal coal. This may adversely impact the future global demand for coal. Increasingly, the actions of such financial institutions and insurance companies are informed by non-standardized “sustainability” scores, ratings and benchmarking studies provided by various organizations that assess environmental, social and governance matters. Further, there have been efforts in recent years by members of the general financial and investment communities, including investment advisors, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, universities and other institutional investors, to divest themselves and to promote the divestment of securities issued by companies involved in the fossil fuel extraction market, or that have low ratings or scores in studies and assessments of the type noted above, including coal producers. These entities also have been pressuring lenders to limit financing available to such companies. These efforts may have adverse consequences, including, but not limited to:
restricting our ability to access capital and financial markets in the future;
reducing the demand and price for our equity securities;
increasing the cost of borrowing;
causing a decline in our credit ratings;
reducing the availability, and/or increasing the cost of, third-party insurance;
increasing our retention of risk through self-insurance;
making it more difficult to obtain surety bonds, letters of credit, bank guarantees or other financing; and
limiting our flexibility in business development activities such as mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
If securities or industry analysts adversely change their recommendations regarding our stock or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
The trading market for our common stock could be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover our company downgrade our stock or if our operating results do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
Our ability to operate effectively could be impaired if we fail to attract and retain key personnel.
The loss of our senior executives could have a material adverse effect on our business. There may be a limited number of persons with the requisite experience and skills to serve in our senior management positions. We may not be able to locate or employ qualified executives on acceptable terms. In addition, as our business develops and expands, we believe that our future success will depend greatly on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled personnel with coal industry experience. We may not be able to continue to employ key personnel or attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Our failure to retain or attract key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively operate our business.
Table of Contents
We could fail to retain customers or gain new ones.
The failure to obtain additional customers or the loss of all or a portion of the revenues attributable to any customer as a result of competition, creditworthiness, inability to negotiate extensions or replacement of contracts or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Terrorist attacks or cyber-incidents could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
Like most companies, we have become increasingly dependent upon digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, to operate our businesses, process and record financial and operating data, communicate with our business partners, analyze mine and mining information, estimate quantities of coal reserves, as well as other activities related to our businesses. Strategic targets, such as energy-related assets, may be at greater risk of future terrorist or cyber-attacks than other targets in the United States. Deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties, including systems that collect, organize, store or use personal data, or cloud-based applications could lead to corruption or loss of our proprietary data and potentially sensitive data, delays in production or delivery, difficulty in completing and settling transactions, challenges in maintaining our books and records, environmental damage, communication interruptions, other operational disruptions and third-party liability. Due to the nature of cyber-attacks, breaches to our or our service or equipment providers’ systems could go unnoticed for a prolonged period of time. Our insurance may not protect us against such occurrences. Consequently, it is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Further, as cyber incidents continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber incidents.
Failure to adequately protect critical data and technology systems and the impact of data privacy regulation could materially affect us.
Information technology solution failures, network disruptions and breaches of data security could disrupt our operations by causing delays or canceling or impeding processing of transactions and reporting financial results, resulting in the unintentional disclosure of employee, royalty owner, or other third party or our confidential information, or damage to our reputation. There can be no assurance that a system failure or data security breach will not have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, new laws and regulations governing data privacy and the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information pose increasingly complex compliance challenges and potentially elevate costs, and any failure to comply with these laws and regulations (or contractual provisions requiring similar compliance) could result in significant penalties and legal liability, require us to change our business practices, increase the costs and complexity of compliance, and adversely affect our business. As noted above, we are also subject to the possibility of cyber incidents or attacks, which themselves may result in a violation of these laws or may result in significant expense.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which could result in significant costs and divert management’s attention and resources.
Securities class action lawsuits and other securities litigation are frequently filed against public companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities or upon the announcement of unexpectedadverse developments. If the market price of our securities experiences significant volatility, or if we report unexpected operating results, become subject to regulatory inquiries, or experience other negative developments, we could be targeted in securities class action or derivative lawsuits. Any such matters, even if ultimately resolved in our favor, could be costly to defend, require significant time and attention from management and other employees, result in substantial
Table of Contents
judgments or settlements, increase the cost or reduce the availability of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
We may be subject to litigation, the disposition of which could negatively affect our profitability and cash flow in a particular period, or have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our profitability or cash flow in a particular period could be affected by an adverse ruling in any litigation that may be filed against us in the future. In addition, such litigation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Part I, Item 3. Legal Proceedings.”
advantages
critical
critical
Table of Contents
Our reportable segments, which are primarily based on the Company’s internal organizational structure and types of controlled mineral deposits, are its two operating segments—Metallurgical Coal and Rare Earths and Critical Minerals. Where applicable, prior period amounts have been recast to conform to this segment reporting structure, which was modified during the third quarter of 2025.
Metallurgical Coal Segment
Our primary source of revenue is the sale of metallurgical coal. We maintain 85 million reserve tons and 1,337 million measured and indicated resource tons of high-quality metallurgical coal. Our plan is to continue the development of our existing properties and grow annual production over the next few years to possibly as much as seven million clean tons of metallurgical coal annually, subject to market conditions, permitting and additional capital deployment in the medium-term. We may also acquire additional reserves or infrastructure that contribute to our focus on advantaged geology and lower costs.
The overall outlook of the metallurgical coal business is dependent on a variety of factors such as pricing, regulatory uncertainties, and global economic conditions. Coal consumption and production in the U.S. are driven by several market dynamics and trends including the U.S. and global economies, the U.S. dollar’s strength relative to other currencies and accelerating production cuts. Blast furnace steelmaking is more prevalent outside the U.S. compared to domestic steel production, which creates demand for exports of metallurgical coal, including demand growth in Asia Pacific.
Global metallurgical coal markets softened in 2024 and continued to do so in 2025 due to constrained economic growth in some regions of the world and continued conflict overseas. The global steel market experienced slower growth, especially in China, resulting in elevated levels of Chinese steel exports. These conditions have led steel companies to both cut back on their own production and to reduce the price they are willing to pay for their metallurgical coal feedstock. Overall steel demand will likely remain weak in the near term; however, supply cuts may occur for higher cost operations absent a significant upward movement in pricing. Longer term, the Company believes that limited global investment in new coking coal production capacity, the industrialization of emerging economies, expansion of urbanization globally, and an eventual return to economic growth will support coking coal markets overall.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we sold 3.8 million tons of coal and recognized $536.6 million of revenue. Of this amount, 37% of our revenue was from sales into North American markets, including Canada, and 63% of our revenue was from sales into export markets. During the same period of 2024, we sold 4.0 million tons of coal and recognized $666.3 million of revenue, of which 33% was from sales into North American markets, including Canada, and 67% was from sales into export markets. Sales into export markets, which often include index-based pricing, generally have greater exposure to variability in pricing from period to period. The Company’s exports have not been materially delayed or otherwise affected by recent severe weather events, dockworker labor disputes, or recently enacted U.S. tariffs.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had outstanding performance obligations of 1.1 million tons for contracts with fixed sales prices averaging $142 per ton, excluding freight, as well as 1.2 million tons for contracts with index-based pricing mechanisms. The Company expects to satisfy approximately 97% of the committed tons in 2026 and the remainder in 2027. Refer to Note 10—Revenues in Item 8, Part II for additional information.
The metallurgical coal markets are volatile in nature; therefore, the Company prioritizes managing its financial position and liquidity, while managing costs and capital expenditures and returning value to its shareholders.
In 2025, our segment capital expenditures were $60.5 million, excluding capitalized interest of $1.2 million. In 2024, our capital expenditures were $69.7 million, excluding capitalized interest of $1.5 million. The decrease in capital expenditures was due to lower spending in 2025 on the Company’s strategic growth projects, specifically at the Maben preparation plant.
The Company produced 3.8 million tons in 2025 compared to 3.7 million tons in 2024 as a result of the increase in capacity and completed development work.
Table of Contents
Rare Earths and Critical Minerals Segment
Our ongoing business development efforts are focused on the timely and prudent advancement of our rare earth elements and critical minerals operations, the establishment of associated processing facilities and the production of rare earth element minerals and coal-to-carbon based products and critical minerals products.
We plan to target the processing and production of a number of rare earth elements and critical minerals which include heavy magnetic rare earth elements, like terbium and dysprosium, and critical minerals, like gallium, germanium and scandium which are, from time to time subject to strict export licensing requirements and changing destination-specific restrictions (including export bans or restrictions to the United States) imposed by the Chinese government. These planned initiatives provide substantial growth opportunities in future periods.
In 2023, we announced the discovery of a major deposit of primary magnetic rare earth elements and critical minerals at our mine, the Brook Mine near Sheridan, Wyoming. The Brook Mine rare earth elements and critical minerals site has what we believe to be the largest unconventional deposit of rare earth elements and critical minerals discovered to date in the United States, as well as the first new rare earth elements mine in the United States in 70 years. We had a ribbon cutting and groundbreaking at the Brook Mine in July 2025 and the overall development of this mine and processing project is proceeding.
Since the July groundbreaking of the Brook Mine, we have rapidly moved to build on this momentum to transition into what we believe will be the nation’s first dual platform critical minerals company focused on both metallurgical coal and rare earth elements and critical minerals. In July 2025, the Fluor Corporation issued a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which noted both the technical and economic viability of the Brook Mine based on its findings and the product pricing information provided by the Company.
Contiguous to the Wyoming mine, we operate a carbon research facility called the iCAM Research Center which is related to the production of high value advanced carbon products and materials from coal. In connection with these activities, we hold a body of more than 70 intellectual property patents and pending applications, exclusive licensing agreements and various trademarks.
To support the expansion of our rare earth elements and critical minerals operations, we plan to actively engage with federal and state officials to expand the existing approved Brook Mine permit covering roughly 4,500 acres to include our entire approximately 15,800 acres of control. Our commercial processing facility will be similarly designed to increase its processing capacity and accommodate higher levels of production.
Before advancing to a full-scale commercial plant, we will test various processes at a pilot facility to be located at the Brook Mine site near our iCAM Research Center outside Sheridan. In addition, we received a $6.1 million matching grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority’s Energy Matching Fund to be applied toward development of the pilot facility.
Based on pilot testing results, we expect to proceed to engineering and designing the full commercial plant, with a construction period to be validated and updated upon the completion of a pre-feasibility study to be followed by a subsequent two-year shakedown period for the plant to be optimized to reach full steady-state capacity.
We will also continue advancing geological work to refine our understanding of the deposit, with targeted infill drilling to tighten spacing, enhance grade control, and improve resource classification. We are also engaged in expansion drilling outside the existing permit boundary and into deeper formations.
On September 17, 2025, we received a new geological TRS from Weir, updated from the March 2025 study. As a result, management has undertaken a revised mine plan designed around a higher cutoff concentration grade for the Brook Mine deposit. The Brook Mine represents a geologically unique rare earth elements deposit located along the northwestern margin of the Powder River Basin. Stratigraphy in the area is steeply dipping and intersected by multiple fault and fracture systems, which likely facilitated secondary mobilization and concentration of rare earth elements via
Table of Contents
fluid flow, enriching favorable coal and associated carbonaceous materials. Given these factors, similar rare earth element grades are not expected to be repeatable elsewhere within the Powder River Basin.
While current drilling and core sampling have focused within our initial 4,500-acre permitted area, we control and own all coal and other minerals on an additional roughly 11,500 acres of contiguous land. Historic lithologic and wireline logs suggest these areas share similar geologic characteristics. Multiple high-grade assay results near the existing permit boundary reinforce the expectation that rare earth elements mineralization extends beyond the current permitted area.
To support our transition and growth plans, in July 2025, the Company issued $65.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 2030 Senior Notes and, in early August 2025, we raised approximately $200.0 million from an offering of our Class A common stock (before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by the Company). Subsequently, in November 2025, the Company issued $345.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, and in December 2025, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement that increased our available revolving credit commitments to $500 million (comprising an initial $350 million asset based revolving commitment plus a $150 million incremental accordion feature) and extended the stated maturity of the credit facility to December 30, 2030 (subject to a springing maturity tied to convertible indebtedness).The commitments under the previous Revolving Credit Agreement were $200 million with a $75 million accordion feature. We believe these capital raises and increased liquidity have positioned us to more effectively implement our evolution into a dual platform critical minerals company.
The timeline to production and expanded production for our rare earth elements and critical minerals initiatives is subject to obtaining all required federal, state, and local permits and licenses and complying with applicable regulatory requirements, as the project is designed and developed without encountering unforeseendelays. Critical mineral production, including mill throughput and feed grades, is subject to further technical validation, including additional infill and step-out drilling, geological modeling, mine planning, and metallurgical testing. We intend to pursue these activities in parallel with our ongoing development plans to support the timely and prudent advancement of the Brook Mine and associated processing facilities.
We have also made notable additions to our executive management team in 2025 to lead in the development of the Rare Earths and Critical Minerals segment as we continue to refine mineral recovery, extraction methodology, and processing capacity assumptions within the mine plan and flowsheet. To assist in the continued development of the project, the Company has officially retained Hatch Ltd. to lead its ongoing pre-feasibility study. Hatch was selected for its technical expertise in rare earth element processing and will oversee test work, pilot plant design, and process optimization. This pre-feasibility study is expected to provide key information for future permitting, investment, and offtake discussions aligning with the Company’s strategy to accelerate project development.
Recently, the Company has developed a fundamental alternative flowsheet design for the processing of its rare earth elements and critical minerals from coal deposits. This process is both proprietary and patent-pending and has been developed by our new internal critical minerals processing team. This design improves upon the solvent extraction processing techniques previously modeled and outlined in the PEA prepared in July 2025 by the Fluor Corporation. Independent third-party testing, design, optimization and preparation of detailed economics for the change in flowsheet design, including a revised PEA being prepared by Hatch, are in process. This PEA will generate revised economics utilizing the new flowsheet. As part of this new flowsheet analysis, Hatch is expected to provide a pilot plant re-design of the interior infrastructure of the pilot plant. The subsequent more detailed pre-feasibility study, also being prepared by Hatch, is now expected for completion by late 2026.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Company announced an initiative to establish a Strategic Critical Minerals Terminal ("SCMT") at the Brook Mine. This initiative is being pursued to help the private and public sector overcome supply chain risks and ensure uninterrupted access to strategic materials. The SCMT is designed to position us to become the most comprehensive, vertically integrated upstream producer of critical minerals and rare earth elements in the United States. The SCMT is expected to provide long-term strategic stockpiling, storage, and inventory management solutions for our broad basket of critical minerals and rare earths.
Table of Contents
During 2025, our segment capital expenditures were $4.5 million compared to $0.2 million in 2024. The increase in capital expenditures was attributable to the continued expansion of the Brook Mine project.
No revenues have been recognized from the Company’s Rare Earths and Critical Minerals segment to date.
The activities at the Brook Mine may result in a material change to our operating results and financial condition in future periods as the project continues to develop. The future financial statement impact is largely dependent on the development activities described above and the subsequent achievement of commercial production. At this time, we are unable to estimate the potential financial impact to future periods.
Overview
Consolidated Results of Operations
Years ended December 31,
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenue
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales (exclusive of items shown separately below)
Asset retirement obligations accretion
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Total costs and expenses
Operating (loss) income
Other income (expense), net
Interest expense, net
Income (loss) before tax
Income tax (benefit) expense
Net (loss) income
Earnings (loss) per common share
Basic - Single class (through 6/20/2023)
Basic - Class A
Total
Basic - Class B
Diluted - Single class (through 6/20/2023)
Diluted - Class A
Total
Diluted - Class B
Adjusted EBITDA*
Table of Contents
Net income and Adjusted EBITDA were negatively impacted by the softening of global metallurgical coal markets and the decrease in metallurgical coal price indices. This occurred due to a variety of macroeconomic factors, including the continued Chinese oversupply of steel into a muted global economic environment.
*Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for an explanation of the Company’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.
Year Ended December 31, 2025 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
Our revenue includes sales to customers of Company-produced coal as well as smaller amounts of coal purchased from third parties. We include amounts billed by us for transportation to our customers within revenue and transportation costs incurred within cost of sales.
Revenue . Coal sales for the full-year 2025 were $536.6 million, approximately 19% lower than the same period in 2024 driven by the negative impact of pricing and a 4% decrease in tons sold. See the “Metallurgical Coal Segment” section below for further discussion of year-over-year changes in revenue. There are no revenues from rare earth elements and critical minerals at this time.
Refer to Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Concentrations and Note 10—Revenues in Item 8, Part II for additional information regarding sales to customers.
Cost of sales. Our cost of coal sales for the full-year was $453.4 million, approximately 15% lower than the same period in 2024 driven by the closure of the Jawbone mine in Q3 2024 and the idling of the Rockhouse Eagle mine and Laurel Fork mine in 2025. In addition, trucking costs were reduced at the Maben complex subsequent to commissioning in Q4 2024. See the “Metallurgical Coal Segment” section below for further discussion of year-over-year changes in cost of sales. There are no cost of sales from rare earth elements and critical minerals at this time.
Asset retirement obligation accretion . ARO accretion was $1.7 million for 2025 and was 14% higher than 2024 driven by an increase in asset retirement obligations incurred during the year.
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization . Depreciation, depletion, and amortization expense totaled $68.2 million in 2025 compared to $65.6 million in 2024. The increase in 2025 was due to the increases in plant and equipment and production versus 2024.
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses . SG&A expenses were $69.4 million for 2025 compared to $49.3 million for 2024. The increase in 2025 compared to 2024 was driven by an increase of approximately $9.1 million in professional service expenses, a $5.2 million increase in internal labor costs and $7.1 million in development costs which are each mainly attributable to the development of our rare earth element and critical minerals operations.
Other income (expense), net. Other income, net was $1.6 million in 2025 compared to $4.4 million in 2024. The net decrease in 2025 compared to 2024 is primarily driven by the $2.2 million recovery of previously incurred demurrage and other transportation-related matters in 2024, a $1.2 million lost coal recovery claim in 2024, and an actuarial gain of $0.5 million associated with the Company’s occupational disease benefit obligation in 2024 compared to a $0.2 million actuarial loss in 2025.
Interest expense, net. Interest expense, net was approximately $7.8 million in 2025 as compared to $6.1 million in 2024. The increase in net interest expense in 2025 was primarily due to the issuance of our Senior Notes due 2029 in late 2024.
Income tax expense. We recognized an income tax benefit of $10.7 million compared to an expense of $3.7 million in 2025 and 2024, respectively, driven by the decrease in income before taxes. Refer to Note 12—Income Taxes in Item 8, Part II for an explanation of differences versus the statutory rate of 21%.
Table of Contents
Year Ended December 31, 2024 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2023
Please see Part I, Item 7, "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Segment Results
Metallurgical Coal Segment
Coal sales and Segment Adjusted EBITDA information is summarized as follows:
Years ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Increase (Decrease)
Revenue
Tons sold
Total revenue per ton sold (GAAP basis) (a)
Cost of sales
Tons sold
Total cost of sales per ton sold (GAAP basis) (a)
Segment Adjusted EBITDA (b)
(a) Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for supplemental calculations of revenue per ton sold (FOB mine) and cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine).
(b) Segment Adjusted EBITDA is management’s primary segment measure of profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate the Company’s resources. See Note 14—Segment Reporting in Item 8, Part II for additional information on the calculation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA. Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for an explanation of the Company’s calculation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA.
Our revenue includes sales of Company-produced coal and coal purchased from third parties. We include amounts billed by us for transportation to our customers within revenue and transportation costs incurred within cost of sales.
Year Ended December 31, 2025 compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024
Revenue. Coal sales for the full-year 2025 were $536.6 million, approximately 19% lower than the same period in 2024 driven by the negative impact of pricing and a 4% decrease in tons sold. The decrease in tons sold is attributable to export markets, which decreased by 6% primarily due to timing differences in shipments to foreign customers. Revenue per ton sold decreased 16% from $167 per ton to $140 per ton while revenue per ton sold (FOB mine), a non-GAAP measure which excludes transportation revenues and demurrage, also decreased 14% from $140 per ton to $120 per ton. Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures later in Item 2 for more information regarding this measure. The decrease in the Company’s revenue per ton sold measures was driven by the variability in index-based pricing for export sales. We expect metallurgical coal prices to remain volatile in the near term.
Cost of sales. Our cost of coal sales for the full-year was $453.4 million, approximately 14% lower than the same period in 2024 driven by the closure of the Jawbone mine in Q3 2024 and the idling of the Rockhouse Eagle mine and Laurel Fork mine in 2025. In addition, trucking costs were reduced at the Maben complex subsequent to commissioning in Q4 2024. Cost of sales per ton sold decreased 11% from $132 per ton to $118 per ton. Cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine), a non-GAAP measure which excludes transportation costs and idle mine costs, decreased 7% from $105 per ton
Table of Contents
to $98 per ton. Mine costs in 2024 were impacted negatively by challenging geology and labor constraints which improved during 2025.
Segment adjusted EBITDA. Segment adjusted EBITDA for the full-year 2025 was $69.4 million, approximately 42% lower than the same period in 2024 driven by the revenue and cost of sales items discussed above.
Rare Earths and Critical Minerals Segment
As of December 31, 2025, the Company has not recorded any revenues or cost of sales from the Rare Earths and Critical Minerals segment. Segment Adjusted EBITDA is shown below:
Year ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Increase (Decrease)
Segment Adjusted EBITDA (a)
(a) Segment Adjusted EBITDA is management’s primary segment measure of profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate the Company’s resources. See Note 14--Segment Reporting in the notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on the calculation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA. Refer to Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for an explanation of the Company’s calculation of Segment Adjusted EBITDA.
Segment adjusted EBITDA. Segment adjusted EBITDA for the full-year 2025 decreased by approximately $12.0 million compared to 2024 primarily driven by increased labor and professional service costs to develop the Brook Mine rare earth elements and critical minerals project in 2025.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure by management and external users of our financial statements, such as industry analysts, investors, lenders and rating agencies. We believe Adjusted EBITDA is useful because it allows us to more effectively evaluate our operating performance.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income plus net interest expense; stock-based compensation; depreciation, depletion, and amortization expenses; income taxes; accretion of asset retirement obligations; and, when applicable, certain other non-operating and expense items that are non-recurring and not related to the underlying business performance. A reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA is included below. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended
Table of Contents
to serve as a substitute to U.S. GAAP measures of performance and may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures presented by other companies.
Years ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA
Net (loss) income
Depreciation, depletion, and amortization
Interest expense, net
Income tax (benefit) expense
EBITDA
Stock-based compensation
Other non-operating (a)
Other expense (b)
Accretion of asset retirement obligation
Adjusted EBITDA
(a) Represents income tax penalties and charitable contributions.
(b) Represents non-recurring expenses incurred in connection with the structuring of a strategic critical minerals terminal.
Non-GAAP revenue per ton sold. Non-GAAP revenue per ton sold (FOB mine) is calculated as coal sales revenue less transportation revenues and demurrage, divided by tons sold. We believe revenue per ton (FOB mine) provides useful information to investors as it enables investors to compare revenue per ton we generate against similar measures made by other publicly-traded coal companies and more effectively monitor changes in coal prices from period to period excluding the impact of transportation costs which are beyond our control. The adjustments made to arrive at these measures are significant in understanding and assessing our financial performance. Revenue per ton sold (FOB mine) is not a measure of financial performance in accordance with U.S. GAAP and, therefore, should not be considered as a substitute to revenue under U.S. GAAP.
Year ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Increase (Decrease)
Metallurgical Coal Segment
Revenue
Less: Adjustments to reconcile to Non-GAAP revenue (FOB mine)
Transportation
Non-GAAP revenue (FOB mine)
Tons sold
Non-GAAP revenue per ton sold (FOB mine)
Refer to coal sales information for revenue per ton sold (GAAP basis) calculations.
Table of Contents
Non-GAAP cash cost per ton sold. Non-GAAP cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine) is calculated as cash cost of sales less transportation, idle, and other costs, divided by tons sold. We believe cash cost per ton sold provides useful information to investors as it enables investors to compare our cash cost per ton against similar measures made by other publicly-traded coal companies and more effectively monitor changes in coal cost from period to period excluding the impact of transportation costs which are beyond our control. The adjustments made to arrive at these measures are significant in understanding and assessing our financial performance. Cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine) is not a measure of financial performance in accordance with U.S. GAAP and, therefore, should not be considered as a substitute to cost of sales under U.S. GAAP.
Year ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Increase (Decrease)
Metallurgical Coal Segment
Cost of Sales:
Less: Adjustments to reconcile to Non-GAAP cash cost of sales
Transportation costs
Idle and other costs
Non-GAAP cash cost of sales
Tons sold
Non-GAAP cash cost per ton sold (FOB mine)
Refer to coal sales information for cost per ton sold (GAAP basis) calculations.
2026 Sales Commitments
As of December 31, 2025, we had entered into forward sales contracts for approximately 1.1 million tons to North American customers at an average fixed price of $142 per ton, excluding freight, and 1.2 million additional tons to export customers priced against various benchmark indices. The Company expects to satisfy approximately 97% of these commitments in 2026 and the remainder in 2027. Sales commitments of another 0.8 million tons were obtained subsequent to December 31, 2025.
The annual contracting season with North American steel producers generally occurs in late-summer through the fall. As stated above, we had entered into forward sales contracts with certain North American customers at an average fixed price of $142 per ton, excluding freight, as of December 31, 2025. This is lower than the average fixed price of $152 per ton, excluding freight, that was obtained during the previous contracting season for North America.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary source of cash is proceeds from the sale of our coal production to customers and financing activities. Our primary uses of cash include the investment in the development of our rare earth elements and critical mineral platform, cash costs of coal production, capital expenditures, acquisitions, royalty payments, and other operating expenditures.
Table of Contents
Cash flow information is as follows:
Years ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Consolidated statement of cash flow data:
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows used in investing activities
Cash flows from (used in) financing activities
Net change in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash
Cash flows provided by operating activities during 2025 decreased $110.7 million versus the prior year driven by lower cash earnings. Changes in operating assets and liabilities were unfavorable on a net basis by approximately $39.4 million compared to the prior year, which was driven by increases to inventory in the current year.
Net cash used for investing activities during 2025 increased by $12.8 million versus the prior year primarily due to land and mineral acquisitions of approximately $18.5 million in 2025, offset by $4.5 million lower capital expenditures in 2025 compared to 2024. The decrease in capital expenditures was due to the Company’s continued progress related to strategic growth projects and, therefore, the need for less growth capital expenditures.
Net cash from financing activities was $539.8 million higher in 2025 versus 2024, primarily due to approximately $398.5 million in long-term debt proceeds, net of $11.5 million in issuance costs, partially offset by $32.8 million of capped call purchases in conjunction with the Company’s convertible debt issuance during the period. The Company repaid $34.5 million in previously existing long-term debt during 2025. In 2024, the Company issued long-term debt resulting in net cash proceeds of $55.2 million and had net revolver repayments of 56.5 million. In addition, the Company completed a common stock offering during 2025 resulting in $189.0 million in cash inflows during the period and paid approximately $20.3 million less cash dividends in 2025 compared to 2024.
On June 21, 2023, the Company distributed Class B common stock, a tracking stock, to provide existing holders of the Company’s common stock an opportunity to participate directly in the financial performance of the Company’s CORE assets on a stand-alone basis, separate from the Company’s metallurgical coal operations. CORE assets were acquired initially by the Company as part of the Company’s acquisition of Ramaco Coal in the second quarter of 2022. The financial performance of CORE assets consists of the following non-cost-bearing revenue streams based on the Company’s current expectations:
Royalty fees derived from the royalties associated with the Ramaco Coal and Amonate reserves, which we believe approximates 3% of Company-produced coal sales revenue excluding coal sales revenue from Knox Creek,
Infrastructure fees based on $5.00 per ton of coal processed at our preparation plants and $2.50 per ton of loaded coal at the Company’s rail load-out facilities, and
Future income derived, if and when realized, from rare earth elements, critical minerals, and advanced carbon products initiatives.
Dividends paid on the tracking stock allow the Company to return to Class B common stockholders a portion of the savings from royalties and infrastructure usage fees resulting from the acquisition of Ramaco Coal. In addition, the tracking stock provides an opportunity for Class B common stockholders to participate directly in the potential revenue growth associated with the development of carbon products and rare earth elements. Separate financial statements for CORE have not been included as exhibits to this filing since CORE’s financial performance and dividends will be evaluated based on non-cost-bearing revenue streams, at least initially, and other potential forms of passive income rather than reduced by allocated costs and expenses.
All dividends declared to date for Class B common stock were based on 20% of CORE royalty and infrastructure fees for the previous quarter.
Table of Contents
Three months ended December 31,
Year ended December 31,
(In thousands)
Royalties
Ramaco Coal
Amonate Assets
Other
Total Royalties
Infrastructure Fees
Preparation Plants (Processing at $5.00/ton)
Rail Load-outs (Loading at $2.50/ton)
Total Infrastructure Fees (at $7.50/ton)
CORE Royalty and Infrastructure Fees
Total Cash Available for Dividend for Class B Common Stock
20% of Cash Available for Dividend for Class B Common Stock
Refer to Part II, Item 8, Note 15 for information regarding dividends declared subsequent to the date of the financial statements.
The Company anticipates declaring similar dividends on a quarterly basis in future periods; however, future declarations of dividends are subject to Board of Directors’ approval and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change.
Restricted cash balances at December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 were both $0.8 million and consisted of funds held in escrow for potential future workers’ compensation claims. Restricted cash balances were included in other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.
Please see Part I, Item 7, "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of the Company’s cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023.
Indebtedness
At December 31, 2025, we had $467.5 million of outstanding debts, or $451.4 million net of unamortized issuance costs. Our indebtedness was comprised of $122.5 million of senior note debt ($116.6 million net of unamortized discounts and issuance costs), $345.0 million of convertible senior note debt ($334.8 million net of unamortized discounts and issuance costs), and less than $0.1 million debt related to various equipment loans. Of these amounts, less than $0.1 million is contractually due in 2026.
The Company’s net outstanding debt increased $363.2 million in 2025 due to the issuance of $65.0 million of 8.250% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2030 (the 2030 Senior Notes), offset by the repayment of $34.5 million of 9.00% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2026, and $345.0 million of 0.0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2031 (the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes). Revolver borrowings, which are typically used for the management of our normal operating cash position, were repaid in full at December 31, 2025.
Table of Contents
The Company completed the public offering of 2030 Senior Notes on July 31, 2025 at an aggregate principal amount of $57.0 million with an option for the underwriters to purchase an additional $8 million of aggregate principal, which was exercised by the underwriters on August 1, 2025. The 2030 Senior Notes mature on July 31, 2030, unless redeemed prior to maturity and bear interest at a rate of 8.25% per annum, payable quarterly in arrears on the 30th day of January, April, July and October of each year, commencing on October 30, 2025. The Company may redeem the 2030 Senior Notes in whole or in part, at the Company’s option, at any time on or after July 31, 2027, or upon certain change of control events, at a redemption price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the date of redemption. Issuance-related costs for the 2030 Senior Notes included underwriters’ fees, attorney, accounting and filing costs totaling $3.5 million. The net proceeds were used to redeem all of the Company’s outstanding 9.00% Senior Notes Due 2026, with remaining proceeds to be used for general corporate purposes, including funding the acceleration of rare earth development, funding future investments, making capital expenditures, and funding working capital.
The Company completed the public offering of 2031 Convertible Senior Notes on November 4, 2025 at an aggregate principal amount of $300.0 million with an option for the underwriters to purchase an additional $45.0 million of aggregate principal, which was exercised by the underwriters on November 5, 2025. The 2031 Convertible Senior Notes do not bear regular interest and the principal amount does not accrete. The 2031 Convertible Senior Notes mature on November 1, 2031, unless earlier repurchased, redeemed or converted. Issuance-related costs for the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes included underwriters’ fees, attorney, accounting and filing costs totaling $10.5 million. Approximately $32.8 million of the net proceeds were used to fund the cost of entering into capped call transactions in conjunction with the issuance. We intend to use the remainder of the net proceeds to fund the development of our rare earth elements and critical minerals project, for strategic growth opportunities and for general corporate purposes.
Before August 1, 2031, noteholders will have the right to convert their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes only upon the occurrence of certain events. From and after August 1, 2031, noteholders may convert their 2031 Convertible Senior Notes at any time at their election until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date. The Company will settle conversions by paying or delivering, as applicable, cash, shares of its Class A common stock or a combination of cash and shares of its Class A common stock, at the Company’s election. The initial conversion rate will be 30.5460 shares of the Class A Common Stock per $1,000 principal amount of 2031 Convertible Senior Notes, which represents an initial conversion price of approximately $32.74 per share of the Class A common stock.
The conversion rate and conversion price will be subject to customary adjustments upon the occurrence of certain events. In addition, upon a Make-Whole Fundamental Change (as defined in the indenture governing the 2031 Convertible Senior Notes), the conversion rate may be increased for a specified period of time based on the trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock. The maximum increase to the conversion rate in such an event is 41.2371 shares per $1,000 principal amount, which results in up to approximately 14,226,800 additional shares if all 2031 Convertible Senior Notes are converted during such period and fully settled in shares.
The 2031 Convertible Senior Notes are redeemable, in whole or in part, at the Company’s option at any time on or after November 6, 2028, and on or before the 40th scheduled trading day immediately before the maturity date, but only if the last reported sale price per share of the Class A common stock exceeds 130% of the conversion price on (1) each of at least 20 trading days during the 30 consecutive trading days ending on the trading day immediately before the date the Company sends the related redemption notice; and (2) the trading day immediately before the date the Company sends such redemption notice. In addition, calling (or the deemed calling of) any convertible note for redemption will constitute a Make-Whole Fundamental Change with respect to that convertible note, in which case the conversion rate will be increased in certain circumstances if it is converted after it is called for redemption.
In addition to the debts discussed above, the Company finances the payment of premiums associated with various insurance policies. The Company’s liability at December 31, 2025 was $4.0 million, which must be repaid in 2026.
Table of Contents
The Company also has various finance leases for mining equipment, which generally include terms from three to five years. The Company’s total lease liability minimums for finance leases at December 31, 2025 was $19.1 million, which includes $7.7 million due in 2026 and $11.4 million due thereafter.
Refer to Note 6—Debt and Note 7—Leases in Item 8, Part II for additional information on indebtedness and leases.
In the normal course of business, we are a party to certain off-balance sheet arrangements, such as bank letters of credit and performance or surety bonds. Liabilities related to these arrangements are not reflected in Consolidated Balance Sheets, and we do not expect any material adverse effects on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows to result from these arrangements. We primarily use surety bonds to secure our financial obligations related to reclamation and other matters. Total surety bonds outstanding at December 31, 2025 were approximately $36.0 million.
Liquidity
The metallurgical coal markets are volatile in nature; therefore, the Company prioritizes managing its financial position and liquidity, while managing costs and capital expenditures and returning value to its shareholders.
On December 30, 2025, the Company entered into a Third Amended and Restated Credit and Security Agreement, which includes KeyBank National Association and multiple lending parties, in order to, among other things, extend the maturity date and increase the size of the facility. The amended facility has a maturity date of December 30, 2030 (subject to a springing maturity tied to convertible indebtedness), and provides an initial aggregate revolving commitment of $350.0 million as well as an accordion feature to increase the size by an additional $150.0 million subject to certain terms and conditions, including lenders’ consent. The amended facility provides the Company with additional flexibility to pursue further growth in production while meeting normal operating requirements. The terms of the amended facility also require the Company to maintain certain covenants, including fixed charge coverage ratio and compensating balance requirements. Borrowings under the amended facility may not exceed the borrowing base as determined under the amended formula included in the agreement.
At December 31, 2025, we had $440.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and $80.7 million of availability under our Revolving Credit Facility for future borrowings. Cash and cash equivalents include $7.5 million of compensating balances held in dedicated accounts to assure future credit availability under the revolver. The Company is party to an arrangement that began in 2023 whereby our cash and cash equivalents are placed at various banks in amounts no greater than the $250,000 FDIC-insured limit to help safeguard against potential losses in the financial sector. The Company’s total current assets were $597.6 million and were in excess of total current liabilities by $488.1 million as of the balance sheet date.
The terms of the Revolving Credit Facility include covenants limiting the ability of the Company to incur additional indebtedness, make investments or loans, incur liens, consummate mergers and similar fundamental changes, make restricted payments, and enter into transactions with affiliates. The terms of the facility also require the Company to maintain certain covenants, including a fixed charge coverage ratio and compensating balance requirements. A fixed charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.10:1.00 must be maintained by the Company during any period when excess availability is less than 12.5% of the maximum borrowing amount, tested as of quarter-end for the trailing four fiscal quarters. In addition, the Company must maintain an average daily cash balance of $5.0 million, as determined on a monthly basis, in a dedicated account as well as an additional $1.5 million and $1.0 million in separate dedicated accounts to assure future credit availability. At December 31, 2025, the Company was in compliance with all debt covenants under the Revolving Credit Facility.
As stated earlier, our primary use of cash includes our investment in the development of our rare earth elements and critical mineral platform, capital expenditures for mine development, infrastructure, and equipment as well as ongoing operating expenses. As of the date of this Annual Report, we expect to fund our capital and liquidity requirements for the next twelve months and the reasonably foreseeable future with cash on hand, borrowings under the
Table of Contents
Revolving Credit Facility, and projected cash flows from operations. Factors that could adversely impact our future liquidity and ability to carry out our capital expenditure program include the following:
Project overruns related to the development of the Brook Mine, including but not limited to increased costs to extract and process rare earth elements and critical minerals into oxides and other products
Timely delivery of our product by rail and other transportation carriers;
Late payments of accounts receivable by our customers;
Cost overruns in our purchases of equipment needed to complete our mine development plans;
Delays in completion of development of our various mines, processing plants and refuse disposal facilities, which would reduce the coal we would have available to sell and our cash flow from operations; and
Adverse changes in the metallurgical coal markets that would reduce the expected cash flow from operations.
If future cash flows were to become insufficient to meet our liquidity needs or capital requirements, due to changes in macroeconomic conditions or otherwise, we may reduce our expected level of capital expenditures for new mine production and/or fund a portion of our capital expenditures through the issuance of debt or equity securities, new debt arrangements, or from other sources such as asset sales.
On August 5, 2025, the Company filed an automatic shelf registration statement, which was effective upon filing, to sell any combination of Class A common stock, Class B common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants, and rights. No securities may be sold until a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of any future offering is delivered
Working Capital
Accounts receivable was $54.4 million at December 31, 2025, which declined $19.2 million versus December 31, 2024 driven by the $42.9 million decrease in fourth quarter revenues year over year. Inventories were $87.2 million at December 31, 2025, which were $43.8 million higher versus December 31, 2024 driven by increased production and decreased sales. Accounts payable were $41.6 million at December 31, 2025, down $7.3 million from December 31, 2024 due to variations in spending and the timing of vendor payments.
Capital Requirements
During 2025 we spent $64.3 million for capital additions, net of grant proceeds of $0.2 million, compared to $68.8 million during 2024. The decrease in 2025 was due largely due to the substantial progress made by the Company in achieving its initiatives to grow production.
We anticipate capital expenditures of approximately $85-90 million in 2026, which includes roughly $40 million of growth capital related to our commercialization efforts in Wyoming and the increase in production at our low volatile metallurgical coal complexes.
Contractual Obligations
The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations at December 31, 2025:
Payments due by period
More than 5
(In thousands)
Total
1 year
years
years
years
Minimum coal lease and royalty obligations
Debt, excluding interest
Insurance financing
Leases
Take-or-pay obligations
Total
Table of Contents
Minimum royalties represent the contractual minimum amounts to be paid monthly, quarterly or annually for the right to access mineral properties and mine certain reserves and resources. The amounts are generally recoupable against future production royalties to be paid.
Refer to the previous discussion of Indebtedness above for additional information regarding the Company’s outstanding debt, insurance financing, and finance leases. Leases payments in the table above include payments for both financing and operating leases.
Take-or-pay obligations represent those liquidateddamage obligations as determined by contract volume minimums for transportation of coal at the representative rates of transportation or a portion thereof. Additional take-or-pay commitments are currently in negotiation and are not reflected in the table above.
Asset retirement obligations have been excluded from the table above. Accounting for asset retirement obligations requires a number of estimates, including the amount and timing of payments to satisfy the obligation. The total liability recognized on the Company’s balance sheet for asset retirement obligations was $34.9 million at December 31, 2025. Refer to Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates below as well as Note 4—Asset Retirement Obligations in Item 8, Part II for additional information.
Estimated payments related to worker’s compensation and occupational disease obligations have also been excluded from the table above. Refer to Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates below for additional information related to these obligations. Refer also to Note 5—Accrued Liabilities and Other Liabilities in Item 8, Part II for additional information.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the amounts of revenue and expenses reported for the period then ended.
Coal Reserves . Our coal reserves and resources are generally updated on an annual basis. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities and values of coal reserves and resources, including many factors beyond our control. As a result, estimates of coal reserves and resources are by their nature uncertain. Information about our reserves and resources consists of estimates based on engineering, economic, and geological data assembled by third-party qualified persons. Information used to determine recoverable reserves and resources include geological conditions, historical production from the area compared with production from other producing areas, assumed effects of regulations and taxes by governmental agencies, assumptions governing future prices, and future operating costs. Each of these may in fact vary considerably from the assumptions used in estimating reserves and resources. For these reasons, estimates of economically recoverable quantities of coal attributable to a particular group of properties, and classification of these reserves and resources based on risk of recovery and estimates of future net cash flows, may vary substantially. Actual production, revenues, and expenditures with respect to reserves and resources will likely vary from estimates and these variances may be material. Variances could affect our projected future revenues and expenditures, valuation of coal reserves and resources, and amortization and depletion of mine development costs and mineral rights.
Asset Retirement Obligations . We initially recognize as a liability an asset retirement obligation, or ARO, associated with the retirement of a tangible long-lived asset in the period in which it is incurred or a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made, with an associated increase in the carrying amount of the related long-lived asset. The initially recognized asset retirement cost is amortized using the same method and useful life as the long-lived asset to which it relates. Accretion expense is recognized over time as the discounted liability is accreted to its expected settlement value. The liability is reduced as the reclamation work is performed and the related costs are applied.
Estimating the ARO requires management to make estimates and judgments regarding timing and existence of a liability, as well as what constitutes adequate restoration. Inherent in the fair value calculation are numerous assumptions
Table of Contents
and judgments including the ultimate costs, inflation factors, credit-adjusted discount rates, and the timing of the related cash flows. On at least an annual basis, we review our ARO liabilities and make necessary adjustments for significant increases in disturbed acreage, mining permit changes, significant mine plan revisions, and changes in cost estimates or timing of performance. To the extent future revisions are made to the ARO liability, a corresponding adjustment is made to the related asset.
If our assumptions differ from actual experience, or if changes in the regulatory environment occur, our actual cash expenditures and costs that we incur could be materially different than currently estimated.
Occupational Disease (Pneumoconiosis) Obligations . We recognize as a liability to provide for occupational illness (pneumoconiosis) benefits to eligible employees, former employees and dependents as required by the Mine Act. The occupational illness benefit obligation represents the present value of the actuarially computed liabilities for such benefits over the employees’ applicable years of service.
Estimating the future occupational disease (pneumoconiosis) benefits requires management to make estimates and judgments regarding timing and existence of a liability utilizing third-party actuaries to assist in preparing what constitutes adequate liability amounts. Inherent in the calculation are numerous assumptions and judgments including the ultimate costs, mortality factors, credit-adjusted discount rates, and timing of settlement. These estimates are subject to uncertainty due to a variety of factors, including limited Ramaco-specific claim volume, developments regarding medicine and treatment, and future cost trends. As a result, volatility in future estimates may occur and actual costs could differ significantly from the estimated amounts. The Company recognized a $0.2 million actuarial loss in the fourth quarter of 2025 due in part to a 0.3% decrease in the discount rate assumption.
Impairment of Long-lived Assets. We review our held-and-used long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. Assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets, which are generally at the mine level or at the mining complex level for mines that share infrastructure and/or developed access.
Events and circumstances that may trigger a recoverability assessment include, but are not limited to, a current expectation that a long-lived asset will be disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life, a significant adverse change in the extent or manner in which a long-lived asset or asset group is being used or in the physical condition of the asset(s), and an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected. We generally do not view short-term declines in metallurgical coal prices as a triggering event for conducting impairment tests because of historic price volatility. In addition, a temporary idling of operations at a particular mine or complex may or may not be viewed as a triggering event depending on the remaining life of the mine, the length of time the mine is expected to be idle, and the amount of incremental costs expected to resume operations.
When events or changes in circumstances occur that trigger a recoverability test, the test is performed by comparing projected undiscounted cash flows from the use and eventual disposition of an asset or asset group to its carrying amount. If the projected undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount, an impairmentloss is recorded for the excess of the carrying amount over the estimated fair value of the asset or asset group, if any.
We make various assumptions, including assumptions regarding future cash flows in our assessments of long-lived assets for impairment. The assumptions about future cash flows and growth rates are based on the current and long-term business plans related to the long-lived assets.
Income Taxes. We are required to estimate the amount of tax payable or refundable for the current year and the deferred income tax liabilities and assets for future consequences of events that have been reflected in our financial statements or tax returns for each tax paying jurisdiction in which we operate. This process requires management to make judgments regarding the timing and probability of the ultimate tax impact of various agreements and transactions. We initially recognize the effects of a tax position when it is more than 50% likely, based on the technical merits that the position will be sustained upon examination. Our determination of whether or not a tax position has met the recognition threshold depends on the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date.
Table of Contents
We provide for deferred income taxes for temporary differences arising from differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities existing at each balance sheet date using enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance may be recorded to reflect the amount of future tax benefits that management believes are not likely to be realized. The assessment takes into account expectations of future taxable income or loss, available tax planning strategies and the reversal of temporary differences. The development of these expectations involves the use of estimates such as production levels, operating profitability, timing of development activities and the cost and timing of reclamation work. If actual outcomes differ from our expectations, we may record an additional valuation allowance through income tax expense in the period such determination is made. The Company had no valuation allowance at December 31, 2025.
Actual income taxes could vary from the estimates and judgments above due to future changes in income tax law, significant changes in the jurisdictions in which we operate, our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income, or unpredicted results from the final determination of each year’s liability by taxing authorities. These changes could have a significant impact on our financial position.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements. See Note 2—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Recent Accounting Pronouncements in Item 8, Part II.
