Alpha Metallurgical Resour I — Business Overview

What does Alpha Metallurgical Resources do?

Alpha Metallurgical Resources is a pure-play metallurgical coal mining company that supplies the global steel industry. Based in Bristol, Tennessee, the company mines and sells metallurgical (met) coal — the type of coal used to make the coke (a refined fuel) that steelmakers need to produce iron and steel. It is not primarily in the business of producing coal for electricity generation. The company operates 14 active underground mines and 5 active surface mines across Central Appalachian (CAPP) coalfields in Virginia and West Virginia, supported by 8 active preparation plants and a 65% stake in a major coal export terminal in Newport News, Virginia.

Met coal dominates the business, with thermal coal as a minor byproduct. Met coal made up approximately 96% of coal revenues in 2025, with thermal coal (sold to utilities and industrial users) accounting for the remaining 4%. The company operates as a single reporting segment — "Met" — reflecting this focus. As of year-end 2025, Alpha held 294.5 million tons of proven and probable reserves, of which 282.8 million tons were metallurgical quality.

How does Alpha Metallurgical Resources make money?

The core revenue model is straightforward: mine coal, process it, and sell it to steel producers worldwide. Alpha produces coal from its mines, runs it through preparation plants (which wash and process raw coal into a higher-quality, saleable product), then ships it by rail — primarily via CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern — to either domestic customers or export terminals. About 89% of shipments in 2025 moved by rail.

Revenue comes from both captive production and third-party coal trading. Beyond its own mined coal, Alpha also buys coal from third-party producers, blends it to meet customer specifications, and resells it. This gives the company flexibility to fulfill a wider range of customer orders than its mines alone could support.

Pricing varies by customer type and contract structure. For domestic met coal customers, contracts are typically one-year agreements at fixed prices. Export contracts — which accounted for roughly 76% of met coal volume in 2025 — are often priced on annual, quarterly, or spot cargo bases, frequently tied to market indices that reset monthly. About 60% of met coal sales volume in 2025 was delivered under long-term contracts.

What market does Alpha Metallurgical Resources operate in?

Alpha serves the global steelmaking industry, which requires met coal as an input that cannot easily be replaced. Unlike thermal coal (used to generate electricity), metallurgical coal is a raw material used to produce coke, which is then fed into blast furnaces to make steel. This link to steel demand — rather than electricity demand — distinguishes Alpha's market from most other U.S. coal producers.

Global steel demand is the primary driver, and conditions in 2025 were challenging. The company noted that "weak global steel demand" combined with additional U.S. supply created downward pressure on met coal prices in 2025, prompting production cutbacks at several mines. This cyclicality is a defining feature of the business: met coal prices are volatile and tied closely to steel industry health, which in turn reflects broader economic activity.

Long-term secular forces include both tailwinds and headwinds. On one hand, met coal has no near-term substitute in blast furnace steelmaking, and steel demand in emerging markets (particularly Asia) continues to grow. On the other hand, the gradual global shift toward electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking — which does not require met coal — and broader decarbonization trends represent a structural long-term risk to demand. For now, Asia was Alpha's largest export market in both 2025 and 2024, accounting for approximately 45% and 43% of export coal revenues, respectively.

Who are Alpha Metallurgical Resources' main competitors?

The met coal market is global and competitive, with Alpha as the largest U.S. producer. Of approximately 73.1 million tons of met coal produced in the U.S. in 2024, Alpha produced roughly 14.6 million tons — about 20% of domestic output. In the international export market, Alpha competes primarily with producers from Australia and Canada, as well as other international suppliers. Foreign exchange rates and ocean freight costs also influence competitive dynamics in export markets.

Alpha's key competitive advantages, as stated in the filing, include:

• A diverse reserve base producing multiple coal quality grades (Low-Vol., Mid-Vol., High-Vol. A, and High-Vol. B), allowing it to meet varied customer specifications
• Significant, owned export terminal capacity through its 65% stake in Dominion Terminal Associates (DTA) in Newport News, Virginia, which provides coal blending capability and storage for up to 1.7 million net tons
• Long-standing customer relationships spanning decades, on five continents
• Cost-competitive mining operations in the CAPP basin

The filing does not name specific domestic competitors explicitly, but other notable U.S. met coal producers include CONSOL Energy, Arch Resources (now part of Core Natural Resources), and Warrior Met Coal.

Where does Alpha Metallurgical Resources operate?

Alpha's mining operations are entirely located in the United States, concentrated in two Appalachian states. All active mines are in Virginia (the McClure/Toms Creek complex) and West Virginia (Aracoma, Kepler, Kingston/Mammoth, Marfork, Power Mountain, and Elk Run complexes). The company's headquarters is in Bristol, Tennessee, and roughly 3,720 of its approximately 3,960 total employees work at mining sites in the two-state region.

While production is domestic, sales are global. Approximately 76% of met coal tons sold in 2025 were shipped internationally. Export shipments reached customers in 19 countries in 2025 (down from 26 in 2024). Asia is the dominant export destination, representing about 33% of total coal revenues in 2025. All sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, which reduces foreign currency risk for Alpha itself, though it does not eliminate exposure to international demand swings.

The company has meaningful export infrastructure in Virginia. Coal is primarily exported through DTA and Pier 6 (Lambert's Point), both located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, giving Alpha reliable access to ocean shipping lanes without dependence on third-party terminal capacity for the bulk of its export volume.