Wyoming Rare Earth Motherload – Who Needs China?

America doesn't NEED rare earth minerals from China.

It was once said that China had most of it, and we had to look to them for what we wanted.

Not so, with states like Wyoming.

China responded to President Trump’s tariff hikes with a series of retaliatory measures. On April 4, among other moves, Beijing suspended the export of some of the 17 rare-earth metals and magnets that are vital to American defense, energy and automotive industries. (Wall Street Journal).

 

If would be better for industry and national security if we could mine for rare earth minerals in our own backyard.

Despite their name, rare earths are quite abundant. They are everywhere. It's a matter of how they are dispersed. To mine them, we need to find where they are concentrated.

Once again, we can look to Wyoming.

Wyoming possesses significant rare earth mineral (REMs) deposits, including the Halleck Creek project, which could potentially make the US a major global supplier.

These REMs, such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, are crucial for manufacturing high-strength permanent magnets.

Wyoming's Cowboy State Mine, near Wheatland, is considered one of the few US projects capable of supplying these critical materials at scale, according to American Rare Earths.

Michael Auslin writes in The Wall Street Journal about a recent mineral discovery in Wyoming.

According to Mr. Auslin, Wyoming has hit the motherlode.

A mine in Wyoming has been discovered that contains an estimated 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth metals and high levels of two of the most in-demand rare earths, neodymium and praseodymium oxides.

While this discovery could reduce our dependence on China for rare earth minerals, America’s regulatory system stands in the way of capitalizing on this finding.

The U.S. must modernize regulations for mining projects to ensure that we can take advantage of our mineral abundance while protecting the environment. (WSJ).