Highlights

• Ramaco Resources hires former White House energy official Joseph M. Stopper to lead rare earths and critical minerals financial planning.
• The company is pivoting from Appalachian coal to critical minerals, with a significant rare earths deposit discovered in Wyoming.
• This strategic hire signals Ramaco's intent to bridge legacy assets with high-growth, geopolitically strategic mineral markets.

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The talent wars in critical minerals just escalated. Ramaco Resources Inc. (opens in a new tab), the Lexington-based coal operator now pivoting hard into rare earths, has hired Joseph M. Stopper, a former White House energy official, to run planning and analysis for its expanding rare earths and critical minerals business.

From Coal to Critical Minerals

Ramaco built its reputation in the Appalachian metallurgical coal fields, but the real prize these days lies out West. In 2023, the company announced a significant deposit of magnetic rare earths and other critical minerals at its Sheridan, Wyoming mine. The site also hosts a carbon research and pilot facility, where Ramaco is testing advanced carbon products and materials sourced from coal. By its own account, the company controls more than 70 intellectual property filings spanning patents, licenses, and trademarks tied to these ambitions.

Stopper’s appointment signals Ramaco’s seriousness about financing and scaling this dual-track model—coal on one side, rare earths on the other. He will focus on investment structuring, capital management, and procurement for both arms of the business.

A Resume Tailored for Strategy

The move is noteworthy for the profile of the hire. Stopper’s recent post was as a senior director for the White House National Energy Dominance Council (opens in a new tab), where he also served as senior advisor to the Secretary of the Interior. Before government, he cut his teeth at Yorktown Energy Partners (opens in a new tab), a private equity shop with deep exposure to oil, gas, and power.

The blend of Wall Street and Washington is precisely what Ramaco seems to want: financial structuring chops layered with insider knowledge of federal energy priorities. Stopper’s Yale economics degree and board experience across energy companies add polish. His philanthropic board work rounds out the résumé, but the central narrative here is connections and credibility in both capital markets and policy circles.

Leadership’s Framing

Chairman and CEO Randall Atkins cast the hire as both personal and strategic: “We have known Joe for many years and regard him as one of the most talented young financial figures in the energy space.” CFO Jeremy Sussman echoed the sentiment, calling Stopper’s arrival a boost to the “financial bench” at a time of accelerated growth.

The language of both executives leans heavily on trust and familiarity. This is less a cold hire and more a calculated addition from within the energy establishment’s network. For investors and observers, it suggests Ramaco aims to align its financial strategy tightly with federal energy policy levers.

Broader Implications

The move highlights a key trend in the rare earths sector: coal companies seeking to reinvent themselves as critical mineral players. Ramaco’s Wyoming find gives it a rare chance to bridge legacy assets with a high-growth, geopolitically strategic market. Whether it can execute on this pivot will depend as much on financial structuring as geology.

Stopper’s presence signals that Ramaco knows the stakes—and that the rare earth race is being fought not just in mines and labs, but in boardrooms and federal corridors of power.

Source: The Lane Report, “Ramaco hires White House energy official to run its rare earths finance,” September 19, 2025

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