Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. Announces Issuance of WARN Act Notice at Mettiki Coal (WV), LLC
Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) ("ARLP" or the "Partnership") announced today that its subsidiary, Mettiki Coal (WV), LLC ("Mettiki"), issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification ("WARN") Act notices to all employees of Mettiki's Mountain View Mine near Tucker County, West Virginia.
"Mettiki has a long operating history, having been part of ARLP and its predecessor entities for nearly 50 years," said Joseph W. Craft, III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We recognize today's announcement will affect families and communities that have supported this mine for generations, and that decision weighs heavily on us."
Mr. Craft continued, "Unfortunately, a series of planned and unplanned outages at a key customer's plant negatively impacted their demand and our shipments in 2025. We have recently been informed that the plant expects additional outages during 2026 and based upon current demand projections and contractual commitments for 2026, they are not in a position to commit to purchase any additional tons from Mettiki for the foreseeable future. Due to the location of the mine and the low-volatile quality of coal the mine produces, Mettiki's livelihood depends on this customer purchasing a minimum of one million tons per year for it to be viable under its existing operating plan. With no clear alternative customer to absorb production, issuing WARN Act notices became an unavoidable step. We remain committed to open communication with our employees and community partners as we move forward."
The Mettiki mine, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of ARLP, currently employs approximately two hundred employees. Mettiki's full year coal sales and production volumes for 2025 was approximately 1.2 million tons, with 300 thousand tons shipped to the export metallurgical market and the balance to the key customer's plant in question.
As of January 29, 2026, Mettiki expects to fulfill its existing contractual commitments, which are scheduled to conclude in March 2026, primarily from existing inventory. Production will immediately cease, giving Mettiki time to evaluate its options concerning the mine's future and the exact timing for permanent closure. Mettiki employees not involved in the reduced production of coal will focus efforts on reclamation activities, as needed, throughout the Mountain View Mine.
The Partnership will reflect the anticipated impact of reduced sales volumes at Mettiki in its 2026 guidance, which is scheduled to be announced on February 2, 2026. For the year ended December 31, 2025, Segment Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures attributable to the operation was approximately $3.5 million. Additionally, the Partnership will evaluate any potential impairment related to this decision during the first quarter of 2026.
About Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
ARLP is a diversified energy company that is currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States, supplying reliable, affordable energy domestically and internationally to major utilities, metallurgical and industrial users. ARLP also generates operating and royalty income from mineral interests it owns in strategic coal and oil & gas producing regions in the United States. In addition, ARLP is positioning itself as a reliable energy partner for the future by pursuing opportunities that support the growth and development of energy and related infrastructure.
News, unit prices and additional information about ARLP, including filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), are available at www.arlp.com. For more information, contact the investor relations department of ARLP at (918) 295-7673 or via e-mail at [email protected].
The statements and projections used throughout this release are based on current expectations. These statements and projections are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. These projections do not include the potential impact of any mergers, acquisitions or other business combinations that may occur after the date of this release. We have included more information below regarding business risks that could affect our results.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: With the exception of historical matters, any matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. Those forward-looking statements include expectations with respect to our future financial and operational performance, coal and oil & gas consumption and expected future prices, our ability to increase or maintain unitholder distributions in future quarters, business plans and potential growth with respect to our energy and infrastructure transition investments, optimizing cash flows, reducing operating and capital expenditures, infrastructure projects at our existing properties, growth in domestic electricity demand, preserving liquidity and maintaining financial flexibility, our future repurchases of units, and the impact of recently announced tax legislation. These risks to our ability to achieve these outcomes include, but are not limited to, the following: decline in the coal industry's share of electricity generation, including as a result of environmental concerns related to coal mining and combustion, the cost and perceived benefits of other sources of electricity and fuels, such as oil & gas, nuclear energy, and renewable fuels and the planned retirement of coal-fired power plants in the U.S.; our ability to provide fuel for growth in domestic energy demand, should it materialize; changes in macroeconomic and market conditions and market volatility, and the impact of such changes and volatility on our financial position; changes in global economic and geo-political conditions or changes in industries in which our customers operate; changes in commodity prices, demand and availability which could affect our operating results and cash flows; the effects of a prolonged government shutdown; impacts of geopolitical events, including the conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East; the severity, magnitude and duration of any future pandemics and impacts of such pandemics and of businesses' and governments' responses to such pandemics on our operations and personnel, and on demand for coal, oil, and natural gas, the financial condition of our customers and suppliers and operators, available liquidity and capital sources and broader economic disruptions; actions of the major oil-producing countries with respect to oil production volumes and prices and the direct and indirect impacts over the near and long term on oil & gas exploration and production operations at the properties in which we hold mineral interests; changes in competition in domestic and international coal markets and our ability to respond to such changes; potential shut-ins of production by the operators of the properties in which we hold oil & gas mineral interests due to low commodity prices or the lack of downstream demand or storage capacity; risks associated with the expansion of and investments into the infrastructure of our operations and properties, including the timing of such investments coming online; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions and to successfully integrate such acquisitions into our business and achieve the anticipated benefits therefrom; our ability to identify and invest in new energy and infrastructure transition ventures; the success of our development plans for our wholly owned subsidiary, Matrix Design Group, LLC, and our investments in emerging and other infrastructure and technology companies; dependence on significant customer contracts, including renewing existing contracts upon expiration; adjustments made in price, volume, or terms to existing coal supply agreements; the effects of and changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, and the results of central bank policy actions including interest rates, bank failures, and associated liquidity risks; the effects of and changes in taxes or tariffs and other trade measures adopted by the United States and foreign governments, including the imposition of or increase in tariffs on steel and/or other raw materials; legislation, regulations, and court decisions and interpretations thereof, both domestic and foreign, including those relating to the environment and the release of greenhouse gases, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's emissions regulations for coal-fired power plants, and state legislation seeking to impose liability on a wide range of energy companies under greenhouse gas "superfund" laws, mining, miner health and safety, hydraulic fracturing, and health care; deregulation of the electric utility industry or the effects of any adverse change in the coal industry, electric utility industry, or general economic conditions; investors' and other stakeholders' attention to environmental, social, and governance matters; liquidity constraints, including those resulting from any future unavailability of financing; customer bankruptcies, cancellations or breaches to existing contracts, or other failures to perform; customer delays, failure to take coal under contracts or defaults in making payments; our productivity levels and margins earned on our coal sales; disruptions to oil & gas exploration and production operations at the properties in which we hold mineral interests; changes in equipment, raw material, service or labor costs or availability, including due to inflationary pressures; changes in our ability to recruit, hire and maintain labor; our ability to maintain satisfactory relations with our employees; increases in labor costs, adverse changes in work rules, or cash payments or projections associated with workers' compensation claims; increases in transportation costs and risk of transportation delays or interruptions; operational interruptions due to geologic, permitting, labor, weather, supply chain shortage of equipment or mine supplies, or other factors; risks associated with major mine-related accidents, mine fires, mine floods or other interruptions; results of litigation, including claims not yet asserted; foreign currency fluctuations that could adversely affect the competitiveness of our coal abroad; difficulty maintaining our surety bonds for mine reclamation as well as workers' compensation and black lung benefits; difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding post-mine reclamation as well as pension, black lung benefits, and other post-retirement benefit liabilities; uncertainties in estimating and replacing our coal mineral reserves and resources; uncertainties in estimating and replacing our oil & gas reserves; uncertainties in the amount of oil & gas production due to the level of drilling and completion activity by the operators of our oil & gas properties; uncertainties in the future of the electric vehicle industry and the market for EV charging stations; the impact of current and potential changes to federal or state tax rules and regulations, including a loss or reduction of benefits from certain tax deductions and credits; difficulty obtaining commercial property insurance, and risks associated with our participation in the commercial insurance property program; evolving cybersecurity risks, such as those involving unauthorized access, denial-of-service attacks, malicious software, data privacy breaches by employees, insiders or others with authorized access, cyber or phishing attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, physical breaches, or other actions; and difficulty in making accurate assumptions and projections regarding future revenues and costs associated with equity investments in companies we do not control.
Additional information concerning these, and other factors can be found in ARLP's public periodic filings with the SEC, including ARLP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on February 27, 2025, and ARLP's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2025, June 30, 2025 and September 30, 2025, filed on May 9, 2025, August 7, 2025 and November 7, 2025, respectively. Except as required by applicable securities laws, ARLP does not intend to update its forward-looking statements.
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Investor Relations Contact
Cary P. Marshall
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
918-295-7673
[email protected]