US producer Ramaco restarted its low-volatile Laurel Fork mine in the last quarter after pausing operations for half a year, it said on Monday.
Ramaco is also on track to launch a new section of its Berwind mine in the next few months, it said. The firm plans to add an additional 100,000-200,000st (90,000-180,000t) of low-volatile coking coal to the market this year and up to 500,000st next year between Laurel Fork and Berwind. Some market participants were surprised by the news of the restart at Laurel Fork, which the company had not announced until Monday night, but see room for more supply in a tight, low-volatile market.
"There is enough low-volatile demand out there," a supplier in the high-volatile market said today. "A small increase should be welcome and help offset the closure of Mettiki."
Rival producer Alliance Resources shut down its low-volatile Mettiki mine in West Virginia at the start of this year, taking a quarterly production capacity of roughly 400,000st off of the market. The mine produced 138,000st of coking coal in the last quarter, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration data.
"In the short to medium term, we see stronger current demand for low-volatile products compared with high-volatile," Ramaco said, adding that it is increasing production to "meet this demand".
The firm plans to produce 4.1mn-4.5mn st of coking coal this year and expects high-volatile prices to improve in the second half of the year, arguing that other producers will have to cut output at higher-cost mines.
Ramaco produced 951,000st of coking coal in January-March, a drop of 4pc from the same quarter in 2025.
| Ramaco 1Q26 results | '000st | ||||
| 1Q26 | 1Q25 | ±%y-o-y | 4Q25 | ±%q-o-q | |
| Production | 951.0 | 989.0 | -4.0 | 892.0 | 7.0 |
| Tonnage sold | 892.0 | 946.0 | -6.0 | 938.0 | -5.0 |
| — Ramaco | |||||
