Mulberry Industries, Ramaco Resources enter rare earth offtake MoU for Brook mine

[Ben Graham]

Mulberry Industries, a Georgia-based vertically integrated manufacturer of high-performance permanent magnets and advanced electrical systems, and Ramaco Resources, (NASDAQ: METC, METCB) announced that they have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to negotiate an offtake partnership that aims to bolster America’s domestic rare earth and permanent magnet supply chain. 

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

Brook is America’s first new rare earth element and critical mineral mine in over 70 years and will be initially focused on the vertically integrated production of commercial oxides. Full-scale mining and construction of a pilot processing facility is underway at the Brook mine near Sheridan. 

Coal country to carbon innovation: Wyoming rare earths discovery could be a game changer for US

The company this year received a second five-year land use approval from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and released summary results of the mine’s preliminary economic assessment.  

Under the MOU, Ramaco Resources will negotiate an agreement to provide Mulberry Industries, on a non-exclusive basis, with a supply of customized oxide blends that include the rare earth elements samarium, NdPr, yttrium, gallium and Dy/Tb.  

Mulberry will use this domestic feedstock to bolster its existing 10-year rare earth stockpile to manufacture advanced permanent magnets at its facility in Georgia for customers across the defense, aerospace, automotive, and robotics industries. 

“This Ramaco Resources partnership diversifies our rare earth sourcing so we can continue to scale quickly and ensure long-term supply chain freedom for our customers,” Mulberry Industries CEO Kevin Feng said in a December press release. “We can establish a secure, ex-China supply chain for permanent magnets right here at home that strengthens America’s economic and national security.” 

Mulberry Industries makes neodymium-iron (NdFeB), samarium-cobalt (SmCo), and aluminum-nickel-cobalt (AlNiCo) permanent magnets that are vital components for advanced technologies. The company is one of the only end-to-end producers in the West of SmCo magnets, which are essential for a variety of defense applications. 

“Ramaco is proud to pursue a partnership with Mulberry Industries to supply domestically sourced rare earth oxide blends that underpin a resilient, ex China permanent magnet supply chain,” Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins said.  

“With mining at the Brook Mine in Wyoming commencing earlier this year and construction of a pilot plant now underway, we will be positioned to deliver reliable feedstock tailored to Mulberry’s advanced magnet manufacturing,” Atkins said. Together, we seek to build a durable, transparent supply chain that helps U.S. innovators scale with confidence for the decade ahead.” 

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