Ramaco, REalloys ink offtake MOU for rare earth carbonate from Brook mine

Ramaco Resources (NASDAQ: METC) has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Ohio-based permanent magnet developer REalloys (NASDAQ: ALOY) establishing a strategic relationship towards an offtake agreement.

Ramaco is looking to extract critical minerals including rare earth elements from its Brook project in Wyoming, which it says holds what is believed to be the nation’s largest unconventional deposit of these minerals sourced from coal and carbonaceous ore.

Once developed, it would be America’s first rare earth and critical minerals mine in over 70 years, initially focused on the vertically integrated production of commercial oxides. Full-scale mining and construction of a pilot processing facility are underway at the mine located near Sheridan, the company said in January.

Under the MOU, Ramaco would provide Ohio-based REalloys, which is building a mine-to-magnet value chain, with a supply of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) from the project. REalloys would then perform separation of the Ramaco feedstock into various rare earth oxides at its Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) facility in Canada.

The MOU also contemplates that Ramaco would supply its own separated scandium oxide from its Brook Mine critical mineral refinery for alloy metallization at REalloys’ facility in Euclid, Ohio.

“Ramaco is proud to pursue a future partnership with REalloys to supply domestically sourced mixed rare earth carbonates and scandium oxide that could underpin a resilient, ex-China permanent magnet supply chain,” Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins said in a news release.

“We are progressing to position the Brook mine to potentially deliver both reliable MREC feedstock tailored to REalloys’ SRC separation facilities as well as our own scandium oxide for REalloys’ metallization process.”

A 2025 preliminary economic assessment for the Brook mine project showed a post-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) of around $1.2 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 38%, with a total initial capital cost estimate of $473 million (excluding a 22% capital expenditure contingency).