A multi-year development timeline envisions pilots, scaling, and full-scale production from 2025 onward, with KPIs centered on recovery rates, environmental compliance, costs, and customer qualification.

Ramaco is pivoting from coal to rare earths and other critical minerals to bolster US supply chain security and reduce dependence on foreign sources, especially China, which dominates much of global rare earth mining and processing.

The broader strategy aims for US independence in critical minerals by developing a domestic stockpile and processing capacity that can help harden the defense industrial base and support national security objectives.

Wyoming serves as a cornerstone for this plan due to its geological advantages, existing coal infrastructure, and a trained workforce, with facilities like Brook Mine cited as evidence of viable, high-recovery-rate deposits.

Risks include scaling from pilot to commercial, permitting complexity, workforce training needs, equipment lead times, and commodity price volatility, mitigated by dual revenue streams from coal and minerals.

Target minerals include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, along with scandium, gallium, germanium, to support aerospace alloys, semiconductors, fiber optics, and renewable energy components, with demand expected to rise into 2028–2030.

A five-year DOE CRADA supports AI, quantum computing, advanced separation techniques, and environmental mitigation to accelerate commercial viability while sharing IP and reducing risk.

The initiative is projected to generate thousands of jobs, strengthen industrial competitiveness, stabilize prices, expand export opportunities, and bolster national security and supply chain resilience.

Funding includes about $200 million raised publicly to develop facilities and equipment, with revenue anticipated from processing fees, mineral sales, and strategic stockpile management into the hundreds of millions annually.

Wyoming’s Brook Mine exemplifies favorable geology and infrastructure for rare earth extraction, with independent testing showing over 80% recovery rates and accessible deposits near existing coal infrastructure.

The project prioritizes heavy rare earths—neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium—with specific roles in magnets, defense, and phosphors, positioning Ramaco to capture high-value market segments.

Discovery Alert will monitor and alert investors about critical mineral discoveries, helping frame the investment landscape for this transition.