A tiny Wyoming town is making international news…
The United States has inaugurated its first new rare earth mineral mine in over 70 years with the opening of the Brook Mine in Ranchester, Wyoming. Developed by Ramaco Resources and its subsidiary Ramaco Rare Earth, the Brook Mine is also Wyoming’s first new coal mine in more than five decades.
A Strategic Shift in U.S. Mineral Independence
The Brook Mine utilizes a novel “carbon ore” approach, extracting rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals from coal and carbonaceous deposits. This method aims to reduce processing costs and environmental impact compared to traditional hard-rock mining.
Preliminary assessments suggest the mine could yield up to 1.7 million tons of rare earth oxides, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gallium, and germanium. These elements are essential for technologies such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, semiconductors, and defense systems.
ABC News has more on the operation, which aims to turn a profit without relying on fossil fuels:
Rare earth elements are a family of 17 metallic elements with unusual properties that make them useful for specific applications. Neodymium and dysprosium are used in the permanent magnets of wind turbines, lanthanum in electric and hybrid car batteries.
Yttrium and terbium have critical military uses, including in targeting devices.
China supplies almost 90% of the world’s rare earths. Concern about continued access to the substances has been a focus of recent negotiations between China and the U.S., and led the Trump administration to try to encourage more production domestically.
Rare earths aren’t especially rare but so scattered they are difficult to bring together in useful quantities. Currently the only U.S. rare earths mine is at Mountain Pass in California.
The VIP list at today’s groundbreaking ceremony includes Energy Secretary Chris Wright, former Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia — now a Ramaco board member — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and all three members of Wyoming’s congressional delegation.
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You can’t eat what comes out of this Rare Earth Mine. It happens again the fat cats get rich and the average American gets nothing.