Ramaco Resources said Fluor Corporation and Hazen Research are helping to advance the development of rare earth and critical mineral deposits at its Brook mine site in Wyoming.
Fluor will conduct a techno-economic assessment of the mining operation, as well as design a rare earth and critical mineral refining and processing demonstration plant. The company is planning to start construction on the new facility in mid-2025.
Ramaco said Hazen Research is contributing its extensive capabilities in mineralogical and elemental analysis to the project, as well as physical beneficiation testing. Hazen’s work will enhance Ramaco’s understanding of the ore characteristics, the miner noted, and improve beneficiation processes, critical for optimizing resource recovery.
Besides Fluor and Hazen, other third-party groups currently working on the Brook mine are SGS, which is providing mineralogical and elemental analysis, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, which is assisting in the continuing assessment and interpretation of the Brook mine deposit. The lab is also collaborating with Ramaco on novel AI-assisted high-grade mapping that will help identify and target the highest concentrated areas.
“We are excited to have assembled a world-class team of experienced parties in the rare earth and critical mineral fields. Working with our internal critical minerals group, they will help guide and execute on Ramaco’s plans to develop what we feel will be one of our nation’s largest and soon first new rare earth project of its type in the United States,” said Randall Atkins, chairman and CEO.
“We are now moving with dispatch to complete chemical, mineralogical and metallurgical testing of the deposit while simultaneously doing further exploration. This will inform our overall techno-economic analysis, which we expect to complete with Fluor later this year. We anticipate also releasing additional testing results on our exploration and chemical analysis from Weir International later this fall. Lastly, we are moving to complete the planning, design and development steps to initiate construction on a rare earth demonstration processing facility contiguous to the mine site by the middle of next year.”
The permitted Brook mine comprises over 15,800 acres outside of Sheridan, Wyo., one of the largest privately controlled mineral reserves in the Western United States.
Source: Ramaco Resources