News – Sheridan Media
A mine located about 10 miles northwest of Sheridan, might have the minerals needed to help make the US less dependent on China.
In May 2023, Rare Earth Minerals were discovered at the Brook Mine, which included various metallic elements that can be used in modern technology.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who recently attended a ribbon cutting and ground breaking ceremony at both Ramaco Resources Inc. and at the mine, says the recent discovery is the start of a new revolution that would enable the US to break away from its own dependency on China, which is where almost all of the Rare Earth Minerals have been coming from.
“They don’t mine all of it, but even the stuff that’s mined elsewhere, they bring to China to process, because it’s a tricky process and then they make these magnets and they had a purposeful effort to completely control that industry. Not to get rich, not to make money, but to have leverage over us and all of the world. Without the magnets from rare earth elements, our car factories shut down, our appliance factories shut down, everything we build, everything that makes our country go ’round. We’re in a place today we can not be. That revolution is going to be anchored, by the team of Ramaco, and other companies around this country, that are going to bring the mining of Rare Earth Elements to the United States, and maybe biggest of all, right here in Wyoming. We’re going to do the processing of those metals and critical materials. There’s things beyond Rare Earth Elements. We need to find them, process them, refine them, and construct the products in our country, so we are self-sufficient and independent.”
The Brooks Mine is Wyoming’s first new coal mine in 50 years and is the first Rare Earth Mine in the country in 70 years.
A recently released consultant report found that fully developing the mine and processing plant to extract rare earths would cost about $533 million, which could be recovered in about 5 years, provided the elements are profitable.
We’ll have comments from Ramaco CEO Randy Atkins as well as from Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation in future stories.
More Like this
Last modified: July 12, 2025