Highlights

• Ramaco Resources announces plans for America's first national critical minerals stockpile at Wyoming's Brook Mine, pivoting from coal to rare earths with projected $1B+ annual revenue by 2028.
• The Strategic Critical Minerals Terminal would store and trade materials essential for EVs, defense, and renewables, but relies on unaudited projections and inferred resources without proven reserves.
• Despite ambitious $5.1B NPV projections and claims of becoming the world's only primary gallium, germanium, and scandium source, Ramaco generated only $8M EBITDA in Q3 2025, making the vision aspirational rather than proven.

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The Cowboy State’s new frontier—from coal to critical minerals and rare earth elements. In a bold pivot that mirrors America’s shifting industrial ambitions, Ramaco Resources (opens in a new tab) (NASDAQ: METC) announced (opens in a new tab) plans to establish the nation’s first strategic stockpile of rare earth elements and critical minerals at its Brook Mine in Wyoming. The proposed Strategic Critical Minerals Terminal (SCMT) would serve as both a storage hub and trading platform for materials essential to electric vehicles, defense systems, and renewable technologies.

The move positions Ramaco—a company historically tied to metallurgical coal—as an unlikely first mover in the race to localize U.S. mineral supply. Working with a “nationally recognized commodity advisor,” Ramaco envisions an integrated model covering extraction, processing, inventory management, and tolling services for third-party producers. It’s an audacious step toward turning Wyoming’s energy legacy into a cornerstone of the American rare earth revival.

National Stockpile or Strategic Speculation?

Ramaco’s vision echoes the strategic logic of the Cold War stockpiles—secure, domestic control of critical resources—but this time the focus is on rare earths, scandium, gallium, germanium, and heavy magnet metals like dysprosium and terbium. The company claims Brook Mine could hold 1.4 million tons of total rare earth oxide (TREO), and it plans to expand annual production 174% to 3,400 tons of oxides.

These figures, while impressive, remain preliminary and unaudited, derived from early technical reports. The company’s disclosure includes extensive forward-looking caveats—acknowledging that its resource estimates are still inferred and that it lacks a proven track record in rare earth commercialization. For now, this is a vision backed by geological promise and structured finance, not yet by production reality.

What’s Real, What’s Rhetoric

Factually, Ramaco’s Brook Mine is one of the few U.S. projects with multi-element potential, and its integration with rail and interstate infrastructure adds real logistical value. The company’s push for a public–private mineral reserve aligns with Washington’s policy mood—especially amid rising tensions with China and new U.S.–Japan critical minerals cooperation frameworks.

Still, there’s strategic theater in the timing. Announcing a “national” stockpile before any federal mandate invites attention but also risk: will investors view this as visionary infrastructure or ambitious overreach? If successful, Ramaco could pioneer a hybrid commercial–strategic model for mineral security; if not, it becomes another cautionary tale in America’s long struggle to rebuild its rare earth base.

The Company’s Latest Report

Ramaco Resources’ third-quarter 2025 presentation (opens in a new tab) paints an ambitious picture of transformation—from metallurgical coal miner to rare earth contender—but the numbers tell a story of high risk matched with high ambition. The company projects its Wyoming Brook Mine will yield 3,400 tons of rare earth oxides annually, generating over $1.0 billion in revenue and $552 million in EBITDA with a 53% margin by 2028. It claims an NPV of $5.1 billion with just a three-year payback—figures that, while enticing, rest entirely on internal projections and pricing assumptions rather than verified resource data.

The $1.125 billion in required capital expenditures and a 276% increase in projected EBITDA over Fluor’s earlier assessment suggest a massive scaling of expectations without corresponding validation of proven reserves. Ramaco’s assertion that Brook Mine could be the world’s only primary source for gallium, germanium, and scandium is both bold and unverified; no mineral reserves have yet been classified under SEC standards.

Critically, while the company maintains a $2 billion market capitalization and touts $77 million in net cash, it generated only $8 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q3 2025 and continues to rely heavily on forward-looking assumptions about rare earth demand and pricing. The promise of an implied $14 billion valuation based on peer multiples (notably MP Materials) seems optimistic given Ramaco’s lack of operational experience in rare-earth processing. Even its metallurgical coal operations—while cost-competitive—showed narrowing margins amid falling prices.

The Brook Mine initiative may indeed position Ramaco as a “strategic oxide provider.” Still, until it demonstrates technical viability, processing capacity, and consistent production data, investors should treat these projections as aspirational rather than achievable. In short, Ramaco’s pivot is visionary—but the numbers demand caution: it’s a miner selling tomorrow’s promise with today’s estimates.

REEx Reflection

Ramaco Resources plans to create a U.S. national stockpile of critical minerals at its Wyoming Brook Mine, positioning itself as a disruptor in the rare-earth industry. The project is bold, early-stage, and politically well-timed—mixing credible infrastructure and inferred geology with speculative ambition. For investors and policymakers, it’s a litmus test of whether America’s private sector can deliver on its mineral independence narrative. And remember to keep your eyes on the numbers,  focus on material deals, and feet on the ground.

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