In a stroke of fortune that could mean upending a monopoly, news has revealed the presence of over 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth minerals. With this finding, the US may become the world’s largest supplier of rare earth minerals, overtaking China.
This comes at a time when the world’s dependence on rare earth minerals is becoming increasingly indispensable. The race for the most economically valuable minerals in the world enters a new age with the discovery of 2.34 billion tons of rare-earth elements.
This discovery was made near Wheatland, Wyoming. This comes after the Brook Mine in Wyoming was discovered with a million metric tonnes of rare-earth oxides worth $37 billion. This brook mine discovery came in August 2023.
If properly exploited, this discovery is estimated to be the biggest natural resource discovery in the U.S. This discovery comes at a time when the U.S. and China are at loggerheads. With this new discovery, the United States might gain an economic and geopolitical advantage over China and Russia in the near future.
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The American Rare Earths Inc. claims that the discovery made near Wheatland is more than the 44 million tons that China possesses. This is just after drilling a quarter of the total site. They stated that this discovery was bigger than they could ever imagine.
The business has four mineral leases in Wyoming at Cowboy State Mine and interests in 367 mining claims at Halleck Creek covering 6,320 acres.
Last year, in December 2023, China placed an embargo on the export of two minerals, gallium and germanium, to the U.S.
The United States is rushing to catch up with China and other countries on rare-earth supply. The increasing demand for its various applications ranges from electric automobiles to offshore wind turbines. According to a survey, the United States uses an average of 8,300 metric tonnes of rare-earth oxides annually.
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According to Don Swartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, Chinese companies want to keep dominating their respective markets. Two months later, Swartz and his group attempted to unseat China as the market leader.
After doing the first drilling in March 2023, American Rare Earths estimated that there were 1.2 million metric tons in northern Wyoming. However, a follow-up in the fall revealed 64% more.
The most commonly utilized technique for mineral mining worldwide is an open pit on the surface for the extraction process. Open-pit mining can remove up to 20,000 tons of minerals daily, making it the fastest method of mineral extraction. However, it poses risks to the environment.
In addition, workers are safer in the enormous hole in the earth than in the miles-deep tunnels.
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The location yielded oxides of neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, dysprosium, and terbium, among other rare earth minerals.
In an exciting turn of events, the minerals named are just but a part of the total minerals the company unearths.
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