Ramaco discloses Brook Mine critical minerals study projecting $8.0B pre-tax NPV

The company received a conceptual study from Hatch Associates on its Brook Mine rare earth and critical minerals project. This is an exploratory project focused on rare earth elements and critical minerals, which are strategic materials used in various high-tech and defense applications.

The CEO issued a shareholder letter discussing the Hatch Report and the company's internal projections for the Brook Mine project. This communication provides management's perspective on the project's potential and strategic direction.

The company publicly released the Hatch Report, shareholder letter, and a video presentation on its website, making detailed information about the Brook Mine project available to investors and the public. This represents a significant disclosure event for a project that could diversify the company beyond its core coal business.

Ramaco disclosed a technical assessment for a greenfield critical minerals extraction facility at its Brook Mine in Wyoming. The plant would process 1.3 million dry metric tonnes per year of run-of-mine material using a carbo-chlorination process to recover gallium, germanium, scandium, and rare earth elements, plus high-purity alumina and silica byproducts. This represents a potential diversification beyond coal operations into critical minerals recovery.

The assessment targets annual production of 574 metric tonnes of critical mineral oxides (gallium, germanium, scandium, rare earths), 11,848 tonnes of high-purity alumina, and 18,617 tonnes of high-purity silica. The capital cost estimate is AACE Class 5 with +30%/-50% accuracy, indicating early-stage conceptual engineering. The HPA production target was revised upward from 1,800 to 11,848 tonnes in July 2026, substantially increasing the byproduct revenue potential.

The company pivoted from hydrometallurgical processing (caustic and acid leaching) to carbo-chlorination after initial test work showed high reagent consumption and low recovery. Ramaco is building a bench-scale laboratory for carbo-chlorination testing starting September 2026. The process remains at an early development stage with key test work still pending, indicating material technical and execution risk before commercial viability can be confirmed.

Permitting is estimated at one year without a National Environmental Policy Act review, or up to three years if NEPA applies. The assessment includes a preliminary execution schedule showing progression through pre-feasibility, feasibility, detailed engineering, and construction phases. An accelerated execution scenario could advance start-up by seven months but would require early engineering and procurement commitments before final project approval, increasing execution risk.

The assessment identifies material technical risks including lack of carbo-chlorination test data, potential for lower-than-planned equipment uptime due to limited commercial experience with the technology, and the need for custom equipment that requires further testing. Opportunities include potential chlorine recovery from scrap PVC to reduce operating costs and processing electronic waste to increase gallium and germanium output, though both require additional feasibility work.

Ramaco disclosed a new independent conceptual study from Hatch Associates for its Brook Mine critical mineral project in Wyoming. The study shows a projected pre-tax NPV of $8.0 billion and after-tax NPV of $6.4 billion, representing increases of 567% and 537% respectively from the prior July 2025 Fluor study. The increase is driven by a change in processing methodology from solvent extraction to carbochlorination, a proven technique used in the titanium industry for over 75 years. The company emphasizes these are preliminary estimates based on inferred mineral resources, which are speculative, and there is no certainty the results will be realized.

The company projects average annual adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion and average annual revenue of $1.7 billion over the mine life. These figures represent an approximately 800% increase in EBITDA from the prior Fluor report, again driven by the change to carbochlorination processing. The company notes these are internally prepared estimates not independently verified, and are based on inferred mineral resources with no certainty of realization.

Hatch estimates total initial capital costs at $3.2 billion before contingency, or $4.0 billion including a $0.8 billion contingency. This is an AACE Class 5 estimate with a wide accuracy range of -35% to +50%, meaning actual costs could range from approximately $2.6 billion to $6.0 billion. The company notes these figures may be higher than ultimate construction costs given the early design stage, and that the next phase will explore opportunities to reduce capital costs.

The carbochlorination process shifts the product mix significantly, with approximately 75% of anticipated revenue now tied to semiconductor-industry commodities (gallium metal, germanium oxide, high-purity silica, high-purity alumina). Scandium's share of projected revenue has declined to 18% from over half under the prior solvent-extraction approach. The company views the semiconductor exposure as a strong underpinning given expected growth in data centers and AI.

Ramaco disclosed that pilot plant construction is progressing, with the building shell expected to be complete in October 2026. Engineering by Zeton is expected to begin in Q3 2026, with equipment modules shipping for installation in the first half of 2027 and the pilot plant becoming fully operational later in 2027. Once the shell is complete this fall, chemical, metallurgical and geological testing will begin at the new location.

Ramaco released an initial assessment report from Hatch Associates evaluating a carbochlorination-based refining process for its Brook Mine rare earth and critical minerals project in Sheridan, Wyoming. The study provides preliminary process definition, capital cost estimates, and operating cost estimates to assess the project's potential. The report marks a milestone in advancing the company's vision of building a domestic critical minerals platform.

The filing emphasizes that the Brook Mine is still an exploration-stage property with no assurance of successful commercial development. The company explicitly states that inferred mineral resources may not be converted into higher confidence resources or reserves. This disclosure underscores the early-stage nature and inherent uncertainty of the project despite the new assessment report.

The company cautions that the Hatch report is a scoping study based on limited and incomplete data. While the estimates and projections are indicative of the project's nature and quality, they are not definitive. This disclosure tempers expectations about the certainty of the assessment's findings and highlights the preliminary nature of the analysis.

Ramaco disclosed that it holds more than 70 intellectual property patents, pending applications, exclusive licensing agreements, and trademarks related to its critical minerals and advanced carbon products activities. This portfolio supports the company's research and development efforts at its carbon research facility adjacent to the Brook Mine.