Note 6 - Related Party Transactions

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

6.

         Related Party Transactions

Mineral Lease and Surface Rights Agreements

—Much of the coal reserves and surface rights that the Company controls were acquired through a series of mineral leases and surface rights agreements with Ramaco Coal, LLC. These agreements generally have terms running through exhaustion of all the mineable and merchantable coal covered by the respective lease. The agreements call for the Company to pay minimum annual royalties or throughput payments on a monthly, or in

one

case an annual, basis. The Company pays royalties or throughput payments on all coal mined and sold from the agreements based on a percentage of the gross selling price received for the coal mined by the Company. Payments of minimum coal royalties and throughput payments commenced in

2017

pursuant to the terms of the various agreements. Minimum royalties of

$350,002

were paid in the

three

months ended

September 30, 2017

of which

$103,082

was recouped through credit against earned royalties for the quarter. For the

nine

months ended

September 30, 2017,

minimum royalties of

$766,762

were paid of which

$199,091

was recouped through credit against earned royalties for that period.