Legal Insurrection readers may recall that in 2024, I reported on several potential deposits of rare earths located in Wyoming. One of them was a deposit belonging to Ramaco Resources near Sheridan, which was projected to be worth $37 billion.
Back in early 2024, when this story posted, my main concern was that the federal government under the Biden administration would have no interest in mining these minerals.
But under the administration of President Donald Trump, the U.S. is now poised to open the first rare earths mine in seven decades.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright will attend the opening of the first rare earth mine in the United States in more than 70 years.Taking place on July 11 at Ramaco’s iCAM Technology Center in Ranchester, Wyoming, the event celebrating the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project will host speakers from the national and state levels, according to a press release.“This is more than a ribbon cutting — it’s a declaration of America’s resolve to reclaim its leadership in critical minerals and energy independence,” Ramaco Resources Chairman and CEO Randall W. Atkins said. “We are proud that Ramaco will be developing the first new mine to lead the United States in creating a viable domestic supply line of strategic rare earths and critical minerals.”
The mine will tap these critical minerals using a novel “carbon ore” approach, as these particular resources will be coming from coal deposits.
The Brook Mine, located in Wyoming and developed by Ramaco Resources, is a rare earth element and critical mineral mine utilizing a unique “carbon ore” approach. Instead of traditional mining, it focuses on extracting these valuable materials from coal and carbonaceous ore deposits….The Brook Mine, supported by Wyoming’s Energy Matching Funds Program … will extract both rare earth elements (REEs) and carbon-based materials, serving dual national interests in clean energy innovation and energy security. State and national leaders, including DOE officials, are expected to attend.“This project is about energy independence, innovation, and reclaiming leadership in critical mineral development,” said Governor Mark Gordon. With operational roots in West Virginia, Virginia, and Wyoming, Ramaco is positioning itself as a linchpin in the emerging American REE revival.
The Department of Energy has clearly identified this nation’s coal deposits as a potential source of critical minerals. Back in 2024, the department directed $17 million in four projects to explore how to extract rare earth elements from coal byproducts.
- University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, Kentucky) plans to conduct pilot-scale testing to obtain aqueous solutions rich in mixed rare earth elements and critical minerals and materials. The project will use further advanced processing techniques to obtain high-grade rare earth oxides of individual rare earth elements, as well as high purity chemical compounds of lithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel.
- West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia) will use material from an acid mine drainage treatment plant to produce individually separated high purity rare earth element and critical mineral oxides and to further process the rare earth oxides into rare earth metals. The project will also produce additional critical minerals and materials.
- Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania) will recover a concentrate of mixed rare earth oxides and critical minerals and materials from an acid mine drainage treatment plant. Rare earth elements will be reduced to metals. The project will also produce high-grade compounds, including lithium carbonate, nickel, cobalt, manganese and titanium.
- Microbeam Technologies Incorporated (Grand Forks, North Dakota) will use a bench-scale system to demonstrate the ability to extract and produce high purity gallium and germanium from a lignite-derived, mixed rare earth element concentrate obtained from selected gallium and germanium-rich lignite carbon ore.
However, the interest in rare earth resource development is not limited to the U.S. In May, Wright signed a deal with Saudi Arabia on cooperation in minerals and energy.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation and a Memorandum of Cooperation on critical minerals during a visit by President Trump. The deals strengthen global energy security, promote technological innovation, and secure essential mineral resources vital for emerging industries.The agreements outline plans to promote collaboration in petroleum refining, electricity generation technologies, energy storage systems, and innovation in the energy industry through artificial intelligence (AI). Furthermore, the agreement emphasizes expanding access to clean cooking solutions in developing nations and developing energy infrastructure across both countries. The two nations also agreed to cooperate on civil nuclear energy, covering safety, security, nonproliferation, next-generation reactor technologies, and uranium mining.
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