Ramaco Resources to establish critical minerals stockpile at Brook Mine

Ramaco Resources (METC) has approved the pursuit of an initiative to establish a national strategic stockpile of rare earth elements and critical minerals at its Brook Mine facility in Wyoming. The Strategic Critical Minerals Terminal, or SCMT, will be developed in collaboration with one of Ramaco’s commodity structuring and financial advisors. The SCMT is designed to position Ramaco to become the most comprehensive, vertically integrated upstream, midstream and downstream producer of critical minerals and rare earth elements in the U.S. The SMCT stockpile is intended to address both private and public needs for access to rare earth elements and critical minerals for the nation’s critical rare earth applications. Ramaco expects to not only process its own rare earths and minerals but will also offer tolling services for third-party producers. The site benefits from direct connectivity to the BNSF railroad and is adjacent to a major interstate highway. The Brook Mine spans over 15,800 acres, with 4,500 acres currently permitted. The company intends to apply for the required permits to allow it to expand mining of the remaining acreage. The Brook Mine is believed to be one of the world’s only primary source mines for scandium, gallium, and germanium. It is also believed to contain significant quantities of heavy REEs, including dysprosium and terbium, which are essential for permanent magnets and advanced defense systems, as well as light REEs such as neodymium and praseodymium. The latest Technical Report Summary on the permitted acreage confirmed an estimated 1.4 million tons of Total Rare Earth Oxide, including gallium, scandium and germanium. The company expects that this figure may expand as the balance of the property is further tested and explored.