Ramaco Resources' Q2 2025: Navigating Contradictions in Met Coal Pricing and Scandium Demand

Met coal pricing and market conditions, scandium market and demand growth, met coal sales mix and market conditions, capital expenditure and growth projects, and scandium price assumptions and market demand are the key contradictions discussed in Ramaco Resources' latest 2025Q2 earnings call.



Metallurgical Coal Market Challenges:
- Ramaco Resources witnessed a 25% year-on-year drop in met coal benchmark prices during Q2 2025.
- The decline was attributed to a combination of lower production costs driving demand softening and targeted safety and environmental checks in China, which slowed output.

Rare Earths and Critical Minerals Initiative:
- Ramaco's Brook Mine critical mineral business received a positive preliminary economic analysis showing a pretax net present value of $1.2 billion with an IRR of 38%.
- The company is focused on expanding its rare earth mine production profile to multiples of its currently permitted 2.5 million tons per annum.
- The expansion is driven by the strategic importance of domestic rare earth supply to counterbalance foreign dominance and the potential for the Brook Mine to produce a significant portion of the seven banned rare earths from China.

Company Financial Position:
- Ramaco's liquidity increased by over 22% year-on-year to more than $87 million on June 30.
- The strong financial position was supported by the redemption of $35 million senior notes and the issuance of $57 million of 2030 senior notes, increasing liquidity to $105 million by July 31.
- This financial strength enables Ramaco to withstand near-term coal market volatility while pursuing development in its critical minerals business.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management:
- Ramaco achieved record quarterly production in Q2 2025 with 1.1 million tons sold, despite operational challenges.
- Cash cost per ton sold for the company remained in the first quartile of the U.S. cash cost curve at $103 per ton.
- The company optimized operations by temporarily idling high-cost production units and focusing on productivity enhancements.