Warrior Met reported an 18% increase in sales volumes for Q2 2024 and a 13% increase in production volumes. “Our ability to deliver a very strong second quarter performance despite a soft global market reflects our continued success in maximizing sales and production volumes and generating significant cash flow from operations,” said Walt Scheller, CEO of Warrior. “During the second quarter, we accomplished several critical milestones in the development of our world-class Blue Creek growth project.”
Warrior Met sold 2.1 million tons in Q2 2024 compared to 1.8 million tons in Q2 2023, driven by higher production from both Mines No. 4 and No. 7 operating at higher capacity levels in 2024 compared to 2023. “We continued to transport more volume by rail to the port during Q2 2024 without any delays due to the failure of a lock and dam system on the Tombigbee River that occurred in January, which slightly increased our transportation costs,” Scheller said “The lock and dam system was repaired and returned to service in late May.”
The company produced 2.2 million tons of metallurgical coal in Q2 2024, resulting in the largest quarterly production in more than three years, compared to 1.9 million tons in Q2 2023. Inventory levels increased slightly to 895,000 tons as of June 30, 2024 from 892,000 tons as of March 31, 2024.
During the second quarter, Warrior invested $84.1 million on the continued development of the Blue Creek mine, which brings the year-to-date project spend to approximately $152.6 million and the total project spend to approximately $518.6 million. The company said it completed major components for seam access at Blue Creek, which includes the production slope, service shaft and ventilation shaft.
“The next major step is completing the installation of the service cage and the slope belt,” Scheller said. “This will allow us to begin development of the initial longwall panel with the first continuous miner unit expected to begin in Q3 2024. We also made significant progress on the preparation plant and the development of the rail and barge loadouts. We remain focused on tight capital discipline ensuring the project will be completed within budget and on time, including the longwall startup in Q2 2026.”
With the addition of Blue Creek, Warrior expects to increase its annual High Vol A production by 4.8 million tons.
