Company CEO Randall Atkins told the Associated Press the mine should begin production early next year and it will be moving quickly with the remainder of Brook mine’s permitting.
“We’re very pleased that the EQC agreed with our conclusion there were not any substantial damages to the surface owners,” he said.
The planned operation has met some pushback from landowners as well as nearby mining company Big Horn Mining, which owns 1,100 acres of surface land in the area. Big Horn attorneys told regulators earlier this year that the Brook mine would restrict rail and bridge access and use should they mine at some point in the future. Council members ultimately did not agree.
“I do not believe there will be an impact, substantial or otherwise, to Big Horn Coal,” one council member, Tim Flitner, told the AP.
In all, Ramaco owns 14,500 acres in the area with about 1.1 billion tons of recoverable reserves. Brook will reportedly begin production at about 500,000 tons annually but ramp up in the long-term to 8 million tons per year.
Atkins deferred immediate comment to Coal Age on ramp-up timelines, staffing and equipment plans for the mine until all of the mine’s permits are finalized.
Last month, Ramaco announced plans for the development of the Elk Creek and Berwind mines in West Virginia and Virginia, thanks to a $90 million private equity investment with Energy Capital Partners Mezzanine and Yorktown Energy Partners.
Ramaco, which was founded in 2011 with a focus on metallurgical opportunities in the eastern U.S, currently has about 200 million tons of recoverable coal reserves in its portfolio.
