Shares of Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:METC, NASDAQ:METCB) rose 2.9% in Thursday premarket trading after the company released an initial technical and economic assessment of its Brook Mine critical minerals project in Wyoming conducted by Hatch Associates Consultants.
The Hatch assessment examines a carbochlorination-based refining flowsheet for Brook Mine. Using that processing methodology, Hatch estimated a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $8.0 billion - an increase of 567% relative to a prior study completed by Fluor Corp. in July 2025 that evaluated a solvent extraction approach.
Ramaco reported that average projected annual adjusted EBITDA under the Hatch scenario is $1.3 billion, an approximate 800% increase from the Fluor report. The company emphasized that the majority of the uplift stems from the shift in processing methodology rather than from organic improvements to the underlying project. Ramaco also cautioned that the two studies do not have functional equivalency.
Hatch put construction capital costs at $3.2 billion, with an additional contingency of roughly $0.8 billion. The assessment assumes annual processing of 2.6 million tonnes of critical mineral feedstock plus 0.9 million tonnes of mineralized coal.
Under the carbochlorination flowsheet, roughly 75% of expected revenue is projected to come from commodities whose primary demand driver is the semiconductor industry. Those commodities identified in the assessment include gallium metal, germanium oxide, high-purity silica and high-purity alumina. Scandium’s share of projected revenue falls to 18% under the new flowsheet, down from more than half in the previous solvent extraction-based study.
Ramaco described the Brook Mine project as comprising upstream feedstock mining at the Brook Mine, midstream processing at a dedicated critical mineral refinery, and downstream commercial sales coordinated through a Strategic Critical Mineral Stockpile and Terminal.
The company said it is in advanced stages of product offtake discussions with potential domestic and international partners. It also reported ongoing conversations about third-party project financing that could involve public and private sources, including U.S. governmental agencies.
Contextual note - The improvements in headline economic metrics reported by Hatch reflect the company’s choice of a carbochlorination processing route; Ramaco has stated that the change in methodology is the primary driver of the differences versus the earlier Fluor study.