Strategic Materials

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>>> Billions of Rare and Valuable Materials Discovered in Wisconsin Could Make U.S. the Leading Producer of Rare Earth Materials


Savvy Dime

2-15-24


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/billions-of-rare-and-valuable-materials-discovered-in-wisconsin-could-make-u-s-the-leading-producer-of-rare-earth-materials/ss-BB1ikBmA?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=3e32749d12754a5f91b8eec6fd7f5159&ei=32#image=1


In an exciting development, the United States might be on its way to exceeding global leader China as the top extractor of rare minerals. A recent discovery of a huge cache of minerals has the potential to upset the world economy in a big way.

Rare earth minerals are essential to daily life in the modern world, making devices like computers, smartphones, and hybrid cars possible.

What Was Discovered?

A company called American Rare Earths Inc. recently announced the discovery of a huge cache of rare minerals that is estimated to be more than 2.57 billion tons.

The discovery is reported to be in an area in Wyoming where the company has holdings of over 6,320 acres of land and 367 mining claims.

What Are Rare Earth Minerals?

"Rare earth mineral" is the name for 17 metallic elements on the periodic table. Their name doesn’t come from the fact that they are scarce, but from the history of how difficult they were to find.

Although they are abundant on the earth, they are spread so thin that people need to process tons of ore just to find traces of them.

Why Are These Minerals So Sought After?

Rare earth minerals have unique properties that give them specific applications for developing technology and medical use. The minerals tend to have conductive and magnetic properties that can enhance other elements when combined in a mixture or alloy.

Some are also essential for many forms of energy generation like nuclear, solar, wind, and oil refining. The International Energy Agency speculates that the demand for these minerals is expected to increase between three and seven times by 2040.

China’s Industry Dominance

The nation of China accounts for nearly 95 percent of the earth’s rare mineral processing, and the United States currently imports more than 74 percent of its own supply of essential minerals from it. China also produces nearly 60 percent of the world's supply of these minerals.

In the past, China has used this position to threaten to withhold exports as a political tool against the United States and other countries.

China’s Ban on Rare Earth Processing Technology

In December of 2023, China surprised the world by announcing a ban on rare earth extraction technology. (via Reuters) It is thought that the motivation for this move is to cripple the United States since they would have to start building up their own technology to process the minerals they previously relied on China for.

The move came on the heels of news that China’s economy is struggling under the weight of recent world events like the pandemic.

The Race Is On

While China intended its latest efforts to control prices and secure its position in the world, a backfire may be possible. China’s ban will definitely hurt countries in the short term. However, as these countries build their own technologies in the coming years, they will invariably break China’s dominance over the industry.

Now, just two months later, the United States has discovered its own supply of rare earth minerals that will boost its ability to compete.

Previous Drilling by American Rare Earths

This is not the first time that American Rare Earths has found caches of rare earth minerals, but it is certainly the largest by far. Their first drilling attempt in 2023 found 1.32 million tons.

The second drilling attempt found 64 percent more minerals, which surprised the CEO of the company. The increased discovery of metals in the subsequent drilling is a good sign that there is huge potential for the mining site.

Just Scratching the Surface

Don Schwartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, issued a statement on the findings, excited about the future prospects of the company’s project.

‘Typically, you’ll see the resource decrease as infill drilling takes place – instead, we’re seeing the opposite, with only 25 percent of the project being drilled to this point,” he said.

Which Rare Earth Minerals Were Discovered?

Several rare earth minerals were discovered at the mining site in Wheatland, Wyoming. These included minerals like samarium, dysprosium, terbium, praseodymium, and neodymium.

The discovery of neodymium is of particular interest for its application in magnets used in smartphones and computer drives. However, all of the minerals discovered have important applications for industrial and commercial products.

Open Mining Will Likely Be Used

The extraction method that American Rare Earths will use is reportedly open pit mining.

This type of extraction is criticized for its negative environmental impact but is common throughout the world for this type of work. It is also the fastest method for getting these minerals, which allows a company to work at a rate of 20,000 tons of rare earth minerals per day.

Is There a Reason for China to be Worried?

If American Rare Earths continues to discover more rare earth minerals, China may have to reconsider its export strategy. While China has the edge in processing technology at the moment, more companies around the world are making strides to overcome their independence and chip away at their global dominance.

The United States, as well as Australia and Canada, are already several years into a plan to scale up their processing and refining efforts.

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