Vertically integrated US rare earth processing and magnet supply chain company REalloys has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based metallurgical coal miner Ramaco Resources to evaluate a strategic long-term partnership for the supply and commercialisation of rare-earth and other products from Ramaco’s Brook mine operation, in Wyoming.

REalloys and Ramaco expect to collaborate on metallurgical testing, product qualification and commercial evaluation of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) as well as scandium oxide produced from Ramaco’s Brook mine rare-earth platform.

The MoU establishes a framework under which REalloys may secure supply rights for up to 20% of Ramaco’s future MREC and critical materials production.

The companies believe that the proposed partnership aligns with broader US efforts to establish resilient domestic and allied critical mineral supply chains for strategic technologies, defence systems, advanced manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and next-generation industrial applications.

Unlike many greenfield rare-earth projects across the world, coal-hosted rare-earth and critical mineral systems may benefit from existing mining infrastructure, industrial workforces, transportation networks, and established operating regions, potentially enabling more capital-efficient and accelerated pathways toward domestic production of strategic materials.

REalloys believes that unconventional domestic feedstocks such as coal-hosted rare earth systems could become an increasingly important component of a resilient North American critical mineral supply chain, especially for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) such as dysprosium and terbium.

Preliminary composition data provided by Ramaco indicates that the Brook mine MREC stream may contain meaningful concentrations of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, samarium, gadolinium, and scandium, supporting the potential for a diversified basket of strategically important rare-earth and critical mineral products, especially the HREEs needed to manufacture the high-performance and thermally resistant magnet technology required by the US defence industrial base, advanced healthcare, robotics and new energy systems.

REalloys believes the combination of Ramaco’s existing operating platform, established industrial infrastructure and demonstrated access to institutional capital markets could provide a differentiated pathway toward scaling domestic rare earth and critical mineral production in the US, particularly relative to many early-stage greenfield development projects globally.

Any definitive commercial agreement will remain subject to successful technical validation, due diligence, and mutually agreed commercial terms.

BIG AMBITION

REalloys is currently advancing a phased commercialisation strategy that includes: a strategic partnership with the Saskatchewan Research Council and use of its rare earth processing infrastructure for commercial production of rare-earth oxides and metals (Phase 1), and development of a large-scale, integrated, and US-based rare-earth processing, refining, metallisation and downstream magnet manufacturing solution, which is currently expected to start production in late 2029 or early 2030.

The Phase 1 operation is currently expected to start production in late 2026 or early 2027 and is designed to produce 525 t/y of neodymium-praseodymium metal, 25 t/y of dysprosium metal and 12 t/y of terbium metal, which will ramp up to 3 000 t/y, 200 t/y and 45 t/y for each metal, respectively, in Phase 2.

The company aims to be among the largest prospective integrated rare earth metal production platforms in North America. REalloys believes Ramaco’s Brook mine platform could become an important long-term domestic supplier of MREC and other critical mineral products supporting this downstream expansion strategy.

“We believe that this MoU represents another important step in REalloys’ strategy to build a diversified, multi-feedstock domestic rare earth platform capable of supporting a fully integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain in North America,” says REalloys CEO Leonard Strenheim.

He adds that Ramaco is advancing one of the most innovative coal-hosted critical mineral initiatives in the US, and REalloys believes their Brook mine platform could become an important future domestic source of heavy rare earths and other strategic materials.