Major Deposits of Magnetic Rare Earth Elements Discovered at Ramaco Resources Mine in Wyoming - Seite 2

China currently produces the vast majority of REEs, which are increasingly important in defense, industrial, and consumer technologies. Congress and the Department of Energy have earmarked billions of dollars toward this goal, and a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year would establish tax credits to support the production of magnetic REEs like those found at the Brook Mine.

The majority of REE deposits outside of China are associated with “conventional” mines and found in igneous hard rock deposits, which makes them both difficult and expensive to mine and process. In contrast, the REEs from the Brook Mine are characterized as “unconventional” because they are largely found in clay strata located above and below the coal seams themselves. It is expected they can be mined using normal surface mining techniques and processed in a more economic and environmental manner than conventional REE mines.

“The coal seams can contain significant quantity of REEs, making the coal seams an attractive source for these valuable minerals on an ash-basis,” said a report from Weir International. “The REEs are believed to have been incorporated into the coal during its formation and are found in association with clay minerals and organic matter in the coal seams. Interburden between the coal seams also contain elevated levels of REEs, primarily in clays, carbonaceous clays and siltstones and not necessarily associated to the coal seams.… Ramaco’s sample collection, preparation, security, and testing protocols are well documented and suffice to provide consistent, reliable, and verifiable data.”

Ramaco plans to analyze the appropriate mining, processing and mineral development plan for the REEs, along with a comprehensive economic analysis. Ramaco’s Board of Directors has authorized continued assessment of this opportunity, and additional testing results will be released periodically.

“We view this as an exciting and perhaps transformative new direction for our company,” said Ramaco CEO and Chairman Randall Atkins. “We will approach the potential to develop critical minerals with the same conservative capital expenditure and development discipline that we have applied to our core metallurgical coal business. We are also well positioned to allocate initial capital to begin a step-by-step development program.