Ramaco Hires Senior Vice President of Technology from DARPA to Support Rare Earth Element and Carbon Product Development

SHERIDAN, Wyo., Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramaco Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: METC) announced today it has hired Dr. Vishnu Sundaresan as senior vice president of Technology to help lead the company's expanding rare earth element (REEs) and carbon products activities. In his role, Dr. Sundaresan will chart Ramaco's technology strategy and oversee the development and implementation of innovative technology solutions to support the company's REE and coal to advanced carbon products growth.

Dr. Sundaresan joins Ramaco following his work as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA). DARPA is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military and is tasked with making pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security.

At DARPA, Dr. Sundaresan led a portfolio of research and development programs focused on developing novel chemistries for recycling of critical materials from electronic waste, decentralized manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, quantum electrochemistry and electrochemical interfaces in solid-state batteries. He received DARPA's Meritorious Public Service Medal for his contributions to the agency and Department of Defense.

He also brings two decades of prior experience as a scientist and tenured engineering faculty member at The Ohio State University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department and Virginia Commonwealth University's Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering Department. He received the CAREER award at the National Science Foundation and the Lumley Research Award at The Ohio State University. Dr. Sundaresan holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Sundaresan has agreed to bring his knowledge, experience and leadership to Ramaco," said Randall Atkins, Chairman and CEO of Ramaco. "Vishnu has a proven track record and passion for innovation that will be instrumental to our future success. The discovery of rare earth elements and critical materials in unconventional coal related deposits at our Brook Mine in Wyoming opens a new frontier for innovation in smart mining, as well as critical mineral materials recovery and processing. Vishnu's unique skill set and dedication to excellence align perfectly with our mission and future development opportunities."

"I am excited to join the Ramaco team, building on the company's substantial prior work and solid foundation in both REEs and coal to carbon products," said Dr. Sundaresan. "Ramaco is uniquely positioned to become a leading supplier of critical materials as well as end user hardware for both domestic and defense markets. Advances in digital tools over the last decade have reached a sufficient level of maturity for competitively mining and processing ores, and manufacturing them into finished hardware such as magnets, semiconductor wafers and lasers. I look forward to developing and deploying scalable innovative strategies to rapidly grow the company's REE and carbon products activities," said Dr. Sundaresan.

About Ramaco Resources, Inc.
Ramaco Resources, Inc. is an operator and developer of high-quality, low-cost metallurgical coal in southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia, as well as an emerging producer of rare earth elements and critical minerals. Its executive offices are in Lexington, Kentucky, with operational offices in Charleston, West Virginia and Sheridan, Wyoming. The Company currently has active mining complexes in Central Appalachia and the Brook Mine in Sheridan, Wyoming, where the company and researchers form the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory have discovered potentially world-class deposits of rare earth elements. Contiguous to the Wyoming mine it operates a research and pilot facility related to the production of advanced carbon products and materials from coal. In connection with these activities, it holds a body of roughly 50 intellectual property patents, pending applications, exclusive licensing agreements and various trademarks. For more information about us, please visit our website at www.ramacoresources.com. 

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SOURCE Ramaco Resources, Inc.