Ramaco Resources Claims It Can Help End U.S. Dependence On China For Rare Earths

As the Trump administration pushes to boost domestic production of rare earth elements, publicly traded Ramaco Resources has broken ground on a new mine in Wyoming’s coal country that could reshape the critical minerals landscape, Forbes Daily reported.

Ironically, both the U.S. and European Union were once leaders in rare earth processing but ceded that role to China after transferring key technologies roughly 30 years ago. I Photo: Ramaco Resources

Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins said the company’s upcoming pilot processing plant will extract high-demand rare earths and critical minerals. The facility, once operational, could meet over 10% of U.S. rare earth demand—most of which is currently fulfilled by imports from China.

The bold claim places Ramaco in direct competition with MP Materials, which currently operates the only rare earth mine in the U.S.

MP recently secured a major investment from the Department of Defense, which now owns 60% of its equity as part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

Ironically, both the U.S. and European Union were once leaders in rare earth processing but ceded that role to China after transferring key technologies roughly 30 years ago.

Today, China dominates global output and controls 50% of the supply of heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium—metals sourced mainly from Myanmar, where mining conditions are marred by violence and instability.