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Ramaco Resources Announces Substantial Expansion of Brook Mine Rare Earth Elements Exploration Target, Board Approval for Initial Mining in Q4 2023, and new Carbon Product Technologies
LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: METC, METCB, "Ramaco" or the "Company"), is a leading producer of high-quality,
About this update from Ramaco Resources, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: METC, METCB, \"Ramaco\" or the \"Company\"), is a leading producer of high-quality, low-cost metallurgical coal in Appalachia. In May, Ramaco announced that its Brook Mine property in Sheridan, Wyoming contains perhaps the largest unconventional deposit of rare earth elements (\"REE\") discovered in the United States, in association with researchers from the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (\"NETL\") and analysts at mining consultancy Weir International (\"Weir\"). In particular, the Brook Mine is rich in magnetic REEs, which are used in applications that include advanced military technology, electric vehicles, and more.\nToday the Company announced that Weir has determined based upon chemical analysis from additional drilling the level of unconventional REE deposits has increased by almost 50% compared to its initial target disclosed in May. Furthermore, the Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved the commencement of initial mine development to begin this Fall. This would make the Brook Mine the first new rare earth mine in the United States since the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine in California in 1952, currently the United States' only operating mine for these critical elements and minerals.\nFinally, the Company announced that working with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (\"Oak Ridge\" or \"ORNL\"), it has jointly developed and patented technologies to commercialize two potentially disruptive high-value carbon products using use coal as their primary feedstock. These technologies were developed as part of a multi-year research partnership, and are subject to issued and pending patents. One involves the use of coal (also called \"carbon ore\") to develop a form of activated carbon fiber as a solid adsorbent to be used in large scale direct air capture of CO2, methane or other noxious gases. The second involves the use of coal to make a form of low-cost synthetic graphite, a major component in electric vehicle batteries and other energy-storage products.\nBROOK MINE RARE EARTH ELEMENT UPDATE: INITIAL MINING TO BEGIN IN Q4 2023\nRamaco's Board of Directors late last month approved commencing rare earth and coal mining development at its Brook Mine in the fourth quarter of 2023. Thi...