China has 90% of the rare earths that the world needs. America has just begun with the second mine
The developers of what will become Wyoming’s first new coal mine in decades plan to process fossil fuels to extract difficult metals that are important for high-tech products and military hardware.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Wyoming Legislature delegation, are on the VIP list for a groundbreaking ceremony at Lamaco Resources Inc. on Friday at the Brook Mine, a suburb of Lanchester in northern Wyoming.
Rare earth elements are a family of 17 metal elements with anomalous properties that are useful for specific applications. Neodymium and dysprosium are used in permanent magnets in the lanthanum and lanthanum in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Yttrium and Terbium have important military uses, including targeting devices.
China supplies almost 90% of the world’s rare earths. Concerns about continued access to substances are Recent negotiations The Trump administration has led China and the US to try to encourage more Domestic production.
Rare earths are not particularly rare, but they are scattered so it is difficult to collect useful quantities. Currently, the only US rare earth mine is located in Mountain Pass, California.
According to an analysis by the US National Laboratory, Brook Mine Coal contains valuable quantities of rare earth neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, and the important minerals gallium, scandium and germanium, according to a Lamaco letter to shareholders on July 1.
“We’re going to mine it here in Wyoming, we’re going to process it here in Wyoming and sell it to domestic customers, including the government,” Lamaco CEO Randall Atkins said Thursday.
Manchin, who took office in January after not seeking reelection, joined the Ramako Committee in April.
The new Wyoming coal mine will not open in 50 years. Wyoming’s coal industry has been shrinking significantly since peaking more than a decade ago, causing problems as utilities switched to renewable energy and power plants that fuel cheaper natural gas.
The stream mine, partially stagnated by landowners worried about groundwater depletion, has been in work for more than a decade. Atkins originally envisioned it as a source of fuel for subbituminous power plants, like the giant open-pit mine in Wyoming, which supplies about 40% of the country’s coal.
Lamaco, a public company with metallurgical coal mines in Appalachia, has recently received energy subsidies to develop coal for carbon-based products such as carbon fiber. This year, they received a $6.1 million grant from Wyoming to build a rare earth and important mineral processing plant.
A consultant report released this week revealed that fully developed mines and processing plants would cost around $500 million. This is the amount that can be recovered in five years if rare earths can be extracted and sold. Lamako will also sell processed coal as fuel, Atkins said.