Rare Earths in Coal Country: Wyoming's Brook Mine Breaks Ground, But Investors Should Read Between the Seams

Highlights

• Ramaco Resources launched the first new rare earth mine in decades near Ranchester, Wyoming.
• The mine extracts critical minerals from coal seams.
• The Brook Mine project could potentially supply 3-5% of U.S. permanent magnet demand.
• Projected annual output is 1,242 tons of mixed oxides.
• The project represents an innovative approach to critical mineral extraction, combining coal mining with rare earth element recovery.

---

A new frontier for U.S. rare earth mining was celebrated this week as Ramaco Resources (opens in a new tab) broke ground on the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth (CORE) (opens in a new tab) project near Ranchester, Wyoming. It’s being called the first new rare earth mine in decades, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright attending the July 11 ceremony as a nod to federal interest under the Trump administration’s Unleashing American Energy executive order.

The Brook Mine offers a novel angle: rare earths embedded in coal seams. CEO Randy Atkins says the company stumbled upon these critical minerals—such as terbium, dysprosium, neodymium, and gallium—after acquiring the site for coal. Now, the mine could eventually supply 3–5% of U.S. permanent magnet demand, according to Atkins.

A preliminary economic assessment by Fluor Corp. backs up the resource potential: 1,242 tons of mixed oxides projected annually from 2 million tons of coal, with a scalable deposit estimated at up to 1.7 million tons of oxides across permitted acreage. Ramaco has yet to receive substantial federal funding but says talks are ongoing. Full commercial output may still be years away, pending a costly processing buildout.

REEx Analysis: Between Optimism and Operational Reality

On the Money:

• Brook Mine is indeed a novel U.S. rare earth project, particularly due to its combination of coal and critical mineral extraction.
• The rare earths identified (especially heavy rare earths like dysprosium) are of high strategic value.
• The Fluor analysis offers early-stage validation of potential output, though it is based on assumptions and unrefined flowsheets.

Cautionary notes:

• Speculative scale: Claims of supplying 3–5% of U.S. demand are forward-looking and not based on refined product output.
• Processing complexity: The U.S. has limited capacity to refine mixed oxides into high-purity materials—Brook will need a “complex plant” costing hundreds of millions.
• No secured offtake or investment yet: Ramaco has not disclosed binding agreements with magnet makers or downstream partners.
• Geopolitical marketing: The tie-in with Trump’s executive order adds political sizzle but not necessarily execution certainty.

Rare Earth Exchanges Bias Meter™

Category	Score	Notes
Accuracy	8	Mostly fact-based with supportive quotes, but resource scale claims need caveats.
Clarity	10	Clear reporting for a general audience.
Speculation	4	Future projections on market share are optimistic.
Independence	9	Balanced tone with little hype or political bias.
Strategic Insight	7	Misses broader context of refining bottlenecks and geopolitical competition.

Total Score: 38/50

© 2025 Rare Earth Exchanges™ Bias Meter™

Sources: Wyoming Public Radio | Reporter: Caitlin Tan and Ramaco Resources