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February 26, 2026 - Many readers of The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Politico and CNBC had likely never heard of Sheridan, a small town in northern Wyoming, before coverage this summer said one of its mines may hold enough rare earth elements (REEs) to break the country’s longstanding dependence on China.
The Brook Mine, which comprises mineral rights to approximately 15,000 acres between Ranchester and Sheridan, is owned by Kentucky-based metallurgical coal company Ramaco Resources. Ramaco and its mine garnered national attention in July 2025 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the opening of the “Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project,” set to be “the first new rare earth mine in more than 70 years.”
The event near Ranchester (population 1,228), titled “American Independence: A Rare Earth Revolution,” introduced the company’s plans to supply critical minerals domestically. Along with significant media presence, key figures in state and national politics were in attendance, including U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a Ramaco board member.
The ceremony was the latest public event in Ramaco’s decadelong effort that company officials say has led to more than $1 billion in capital from investors, convertible debt and other funding sources.
Wyoming and the federal government have invested millions of dollars in the mine. At the same time, the company has faced criticism about its viability and opposition by neighboring landowners and others concerned about environmental impacts.
While largely new to a national audience, residents of Sheridan County have been familiar with publicly traded Ramaco Resources’ Brook Mine for more than a decade, dating back to plans for a productive coal mine in 2014. Pulling from past statewide reporting, the following is a comprehensive history of Sheridan County’s Brook Mine through 2026 operations.
2014
On June 17, 2014, The Sheridan Press reported Ramaco announced plans to open a new coal mine between Sheridan and Ranchester.
“Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins said he hopes to create 200-225 high-paying jobs — foreman, engineers, etc. — when the mine opens in a few years,” the Press reported.
According to documents made available through a public records request, Sheridan-Wyoming Coal Co. granted the “right, title and interest in the coal and other minerals, except oil, gas and coalbed methane” in and under approximately 15,000 acres of mostly private land to Ramaco August 17, 2011. Sheridan-Wyoming Coal Co. is a subsidiary of the U.S. Distributing Company that operated several coal mines and distributed coal in the region as early as the 1920s.
Ramaco also entered into agreements with local agriculture producer Padlock Ranch Co. in September 2016 and limited liability company Taylor Investments with registered agent Leroy D. Taylor in September 2012 for the right to mine, extract and remove coal deposits and other minerals under the surfaces to which the Padlock and Taylor owned the rights.
The proposed mine was expected to produce 6-8 million tons of coal per year, according to Atkins, using highwall mining techniques. By contrast, the largest coal mines in the U.S. rely on surface strip mining. According to 2024 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the four most productive U.S. coal mines — North Antelope Rochelle, Black Thunder, Antelope Coal Mine, and Belle Ayr — are all surface mines located in Wyoming. Each produces tens of millions of short tons of coal annually, with Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Campbell County, producing nearly 60 million short tons per year, far exceeding the output projected for the proposed highwall mining operation.
Atkins told The Sheridan Press Ramaco planned to start mining in 2016.
A few months later, Ramaco’s plan had evolved with its release of a “socio-economic development analysis” that suggested “significant growth” would occur in Sheridan County. At this point, company officials said the mine and reclamation permits were under technical review with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ).
At the release of the analysis Nov. 6, 2014, then-Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead gave a nod to Atkins’ company.
“The new mine will mean more high paying jobs and millions of additional dollars to the local economy,” Mead said. “Wyoming’s favorable tax climate and reduced regulations make doing business here profitable. Ramaco’s faith in Wyoming’s natural resources shows that Wyoming is a good investment. Ramaco’s plan also confirms my belief that coal has a long future in Wyoming. Wyoming will continue to fuel the country,” The Sheridan Press reported.
2015-2016
Between these dates, Ramaco’s application for a coal mine permit underwent many rounds of technical review by WDEQ. WDEQ has multiple divisions that look into permit applications: Air Quality, Water Quality, Solid and Hazardous Waste Quality, Mining and Land Reclamation, Industrial Siting, Abandoned Mine Land and Administration.
2017
On Feb. 27, 2017, The Sheridan Press reported an update on the Brook Mine. Officials announced plans to build “research and manufacturing facilities in Sheridan County that will turn the coal into products like carbon fiber for the automobile industry and create thousands of jobs.”
Carbon fiber is typically made with oil.
“The iCAM research facility, initially expected to employ 10-12 individuals, could grow quickly. When both the research and manufacturing facilities are at full-scale production, Ramaco officials said it could create more than 3,000 jobs in Wyoming, from engineers and scientists to manufacturers, construction workers and miners,” The Press article stated.
Ramaco also received a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to aid in the development of carbon fiber products research to take place at the iCAM facility, The Press said a Ramaco press release stated July 21, 2017.
Nearby residents and local environmental group, Powder River Basin Resource Council (PRBRC), had concerns about potential land, water, road and property damage as a result of the mine’s development. Concerned locals, as well as Lighthouse Resources Inc.’s Big Horn Coal Co., which owned land rights at the proposed mine site as well as Padlock Ranch Co. and Taylor Investments, contested WDEQ’s approval of Ramaco’s mining permit. This brought the permit application case before WDEQ’s governing authority, the Environmental Quality Council (EQC), an independent appeals board of seven members.
In May, the Press reported on the five-day hearing held by EQC on the coal mine permit application submitted by Ramaco.
Ultimately, EQC sided with PRBRC and landowners it represented and remanded the permit, sending it back to WDEQ for further review, WyoFile reported. EQC Council members cited concerns about the lack of public outreach and coordination with local agencies by Ramaco.
In October, WyoFile reported the rejection of Ramaco’s Brook Mine permit by WDEQ, reversing its original decision, based on the conclusions drawn by EQC in August. WDEQ cited “procedural and substantive deficiencies with the permit application when it came to impacts like hydrology, subsidence and blasting.”
2018
On March 7, 2018, Wyoming Public Radio (WPR) reported Sheridan County Commissioners voted three to two in favor of rezoning 114 acres of land from agricultural to industrial, laying the path for Ramaco to develop its Brook Mine. Its coal mine permit had not yet been approved by WDEQ.
According to WPR, Ramaco project manager Jeff Barron expected to see development on the land within nine to 18 months.
On Oct. 12, 2018 The Press reported local officials gave Ramaco the go-ahead to construct its first facility in Sheridan County: the Innovation of Carbon Advanced Materials (iCAM) building. The research facility was set to be the first of an extensive campus including a carbon-based manufacturing center (iPark) and the Brook coal mine itself.
One week later, Oct. 19, 2018, WPR reported Ramaco had submitted a revised permit to WDEQ.
2019
On Sept. 24, 2019, the Press reported an announcement from the U.S. DOE that Ramaco Carbon was the recipient of millions of dollars of new federal grants “to support the creation of high-value alternative uses for coal in developing both advanced carbon products and advanced materials.” Ramaco was the recipient and sub-recipient “on four cost-shared research and development grants, totaling more than $5 million.”
On Nov. 1, 2019, Laramie County District Court Judge Catherine Rogers remanded the 2017 rejection of Ramaco’s mining permit.
This ruling cleared one obstacle to the development of the Brook Mine and upheld the challenge made by Ramaco that the EQC did not have the authority to order WDEQ to reject the permit application.
Ramaco’s coal mining permit application was in its 11th round of revisions at this point, according to Ramaco attorney Tom Sansonetti.
2020
On March 2, 2020, The Press reported the approval of Ramaco’s application to mine private coal assets at the Brook Mine. WDEQ’s Land Quality Division (LQD) District 3 Permit Coordinator Bjarne Kristiansen informed Ramaco of its permit status one week prior. This decision marked the opening of a public comment period before the final decision on the mine permit’s approval, set to be made by WDEQ in the summer.
Some local landowners remained opposed, the Press reported.
On July 7, 2020, WPR reported WDEQ officially approved Ramaco’s coal mine permit application. WDEQ director Tom Partiff said comments from Tongue River Valley residents citing concerns around blasting, hydrology and subsidence and expert testimony from PRBRC aided the department’s LDQ in their amendments to the application prior to its final approval.
“Those include the need to prohibit blasting on weekends and holidays, updating wildlife monitoring data and further evaluating subsidence prior to highway mining. Brook Mining Company will also need to post a reclamation bond of about $1.36 million before they start mining,” the Press article reported.
Tensions remained between PRBRC and Ramaco. Landowner Joan Tellez said the amendments “don’t address the issues that we have.”
Atkins said he thought the permit should have been approved years ago.
“I think the passage of time and the additional rumblings and court cases and hearings, etc. truly didn’t add much,” Atkins told WPR.
The document, dated July 7, 2020, announcing WDEQ’s approval of the Brook Mine Company coal permit, including roughly 4,500 acres, can be found here.
2021
In May 2021, almost one year after WDEQ approved the application for a coal mining permit, Atkins said the Brook Mine, once opened, “will employ between 50 and 100 people,” The Sheridan Press reported.
PRBRC remained skeptical about promises made to neighboring landowners — 100 folks living within a half mile of the mine — and said they will work to address concerns of the locals as the project moves forward.
Atkins said the principal goal of the mine, initially, was to be research. He said when the iCAM research center was completed, “Wyoming’s first new coal mine in more than four decades could be operational as early as this fall.”
2023
On May 3, 2023, a Ramaco press release announced that a range of 181,000 and 226,000 tons of magnetic rare earth oxide was discovered at the Brook Mine site.
“Following 18 months of extensive core drilling and independent chemical analysis, (U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory) researchers and Ramaco now believe that the Brook Mine property contains perhaps the largest unconventional deposit of REEs [rare earth elements] discovered in the United States.”
The company’s statement said “Mining at the Brook Mine could begin as early as the fourth quarter of 2023, following additional mining development and assessment. The additional 11,300 acres will be also assessed and could provide opportunity to increase the scale of the overall development in the future.”
Ramaco held at least three “Ramaco Research Rodeos” at Sheridan College, The Sheridan Press reported. The events featured information about the rare earth element deposits at the Brook Mine and what, how and where they can be used. U.S. DOE Research Geologist Scott Montross and DOE Acting Director of Mineral Sustainability Grant Bromhal were present in Sheridan to describe the process of extracting rare earth elements from coal and using them for synthetic fiber and graphite, which is typically made from a gas and petroleum process.
In August 2023, the company announced researchers from the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and analysts at mining consultancy Weir International found REE deposits were double May’s assessment.
Ramaco announced in the same statement that its board of directors approved initial mine development to begin in the fall and the company’s work with the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed and patented “technologies to commercialize two potentially disruptive high-value carbon products using coal as their primary feedstock… one involves the use of coal 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.”
2025
A March 17, 2025, press release announced Ramaco Resources received a $6.1 million matching grant authorized by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and issued by the Wyoming Energy Authority for Ramaco’s Wyoming Carbon Ore Rare Earth Brook Mine project.
On July 11, 2025, Ramaco held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official opening of the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project. The event was marked with statements of support from Gov. Gordon and both Wyoming senators, included in Ramaco’s July 1 press release.
On Oct. 23, 2025, Ramaco made another announcement, sharing initial development of its “new pilot processing plant and laboratory” located nearby the iCAM facility.
In December 2025, PRBRC submitted a series of questions to WDEQ on Ramaco’s operations in Sheridan County. Questions were in regards to the rules and regulations on the extractions of rare earth minerals, the impacts of rare earth mining, Ramaco’s permit, Ramaco’s previously proposed coal mine operation, inquiries on public meetings on the new operations, plans to address noise and light pollution, bonding required for rare earth mineral mining, accountability for grants provided to Ramaco and more.
By print time, The Sheridan Press had not been informed of a response from WDEQ to PRBRC’s questions on Ramaco’s current operations and plans for impact mitigation.
2026
The Sheridan Press met with Atkins Jan. 29, 2026 to discuss updates on the Brook Mine project.
Since the the July 2025 ribbon-cutting, Ramaco's on-site coal mine at the Monarch Seam has been in operation, complemented by core drilling, chemical analysis and raising money (capital from investors, convertible debt and other funding sources, the company says), for the future of rare earth mineral mining in the U.S., Atkins said.
In the time since REEs were reported by Ramaco to be present on site in 2023, the iCAM has been the location of chemical analysis of the samples of earth cores coming from the drilling on the 15,000 acre site. It also houses offices of Sheridan County-based Ramaco leadership, including Executive Vice President of Western Operations Scott Kreutzer. Kreutzer said Ramaco has been drilling cores on the Brook Mine site for years, and drilling on the property pre-dates Ramaco ownership, including drilling done by Sheridan-Wyoming Coal Co.
“Including some that were done before we bought the property that we had access to, we’re over 1,000 [drill holes],” Kreutzer said.
In January, Ramaco had two core drilling rigs in operation, with a third set to be added in February 2026. Once the cores — from 150 to 200 feet long — are pulled from the ground, they are split into one-foot pieces, cataloged and chemically analyzed for concentrations of rare earth elements, some of which is done at the iCAM facility and some of which is sent to “independent third party researchers,” Atkins said.
The next steps for domestic production of rare earths discovered at the Brook Mine is the construction of the “Brook Mine Pilot and Research Lab Facility,” set to be built east of the iCAM facility. Atkins said he hopes construction on this pilot plant will begin in summer 2026.
Following the pilot plant, a large-scale rare commercial rare earth minerals processing plant will be built on the Brook Mine property, Atkins said, with an estimated beginning date of 2030. Atkins said the facility will cost more than $1 billion, and when “full-scale mining begins,” he estimates adding 150-200 employees, including engineers, geologists and miners.
Currently, 12 Sheridan County residents are employed by the company, Kreutzer said, all of whom work within the iCAM facility.
Looking Forward
For Sheridan County residents interested in gaining more insight into this longstanding project — an issue in the backyard, not just in the headlines — Ramaco will report its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results Wednesday, Feb. 25 after regular trading hours of the U.S. stock exchange close at 4 p.m. EST.
The earnings news release will be available on the company’s investor relations website at ramacoresources.com.
To hear from Ramaco officials directly, a public investor call will take place Thursday, Feb. 26, at 9 a.m. EST (7 a.m. MST), where Atkins and other Ramaco leadership will discuss the results of Q4 earnings. The conference can be accessed by dialing 1-833-890-6690 domestically or 1-412-564-6129 internationally. The webcast for the release will be available at event.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=clDssQ6Q. |
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