Warrior Met Coal nearing production on $1.3 billion Blue Creek mine

Warrior Met Coal is getting closer to production on a project that it says could produce up to $1.3 billion annually in metallurgical coal.

The Brookwood-based company said the mine could begin producing up to more than 6 million tons of coal by 2026. The project is expected to create about 300 jobs.

The Blue Creek site has long been eyed for development. The mine first received a permit from the Alabama Surface Mining Commission in June 2012.

This week, the company provided several updates on the project, which was first announced in 2020 and then restarted nearly three years later following the pandemic.

Warrior Met mines non-thermal metallurgical, or met coal, used in steel production by metal manufacturers in Europe, South America and Asia. Blue Creek is one of the last remaining large-scale untapped premium High Vol A met coal mines in the U.S.

Originally, Warrior Met projected about 4.8 million tons a year from the mine, but operational and technological changes have allowed the company to revise its estimates upward.

CEO Walt Scheller said the company believes the Blue Creek project will have “a positive impact on Warrior for decades to come.”

“This project represents a transformative opportunity for Warrior through the significant addition of nameplate capacity to address the market dynamics we believe will continue to play out over the near and medium-term,” he said.

Nameplate capacity refers to the intended full load of the mine.

Warrior said it expects the mine’s preparation plant to start midway through this year, and the longwall to start no later than the second quarter of 2026.