{"id":394021,"date":"2025-08-09T19:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T17:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394021"},"modified":"2025-08-09T19:07:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T17:07:40","slug":"whats-so-rare-about-rare-earth-minerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=394021","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s so rare about rare earth minerals?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"435\" data-attachment-id=\"394023\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=394023\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1541&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1541\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?fit=723%2C435&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=723%2C435&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A periodic table of elements highlighting the rare earth elements with specific emphasis on strontium (Sr), yttrium (Y), and lanthanides.\" class=\"wp-image-394023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C616&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=300%2C181&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=768%2C462&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1536%2C925&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=2048%2C1233&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1200%2C722&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?w=1446&amp;ssl=1 1446w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?w=2169&amp;ssl=1 2169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfact.org\/2025\/08\/08\/whats-so-rare-about-rare-earth-minerals\/\">CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfact.org\/author\/cfact\/\">Greg Walcher<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Energy Secretary Chris Wright went to Wyoming last week to cut the ribbon on the first new rare earth mine in the U.S. since the 1950s. Telling the assembled guests and reporters that the \u201cBrook Mine\u201d is critical to breaking China\u2019s \u201cstranglehold on rare earth processing,\u201d he hinted that it might be the first of several. It should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years ago, I visited Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, and when discussing the need for domestic production of vital minerals, he picked up a dark brown rock from the Mojave Desert, explaining that it was mostly composed of a \u201crare earth\u201d element. He said millions of such rocks littered the desert in his district, yet the United States imported 100 percent of the mineral it contains. That situation has not changed since then, but maybe it soon will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many leaders have warned for years about America\u2019s reliance on China for rare earth minerals, several of which are critical in the production of renewable energy and high-tech equipment like cell phones, computers, MRI machines, and satellites. Most Americans don\u2019t spend two seconds wondering where we get these elements with hard-to-pronounce names like ytterbium, dysprosium, and praseodymium. But with China becoming an ever-increasing threat to U.S. security, a passing concern has become a crisis. Unnecessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is no good reason for the U.S. or its allies to rely on China in the first place. Western economies are heavily dependent upon energy and telecommunications, but nothing about that requires Chinese mining or manufacturing. America has always had its own plentiful supplies but decided decades ago to lock up some of its own most important natural resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, the only thing remarkable about Congressman Gosar\u2019s \u201crare earth\u201d rock is that it isn\u2019t rare at all. The term \u201crare earth\u201d is a misnomer, applied to 17 specific minerals because they were once considered difficult to extract from the surrounding rock in which they are found. But supplies abound worldwide, including much of the U.S., where our known reserves are at least ten times the entire world\u2019s production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China now mines 80-90 percent of the world\u2019s rare-earth minerals \u2013 and processes virtually all the rest \u2013 yet it has only about 37 percent of the world\u2019s estimated reserves. Before the 1960s, the U.S. supplied the world, mostly from one mine in California. Then, China started exporting rare earths, driving prices down, and finally bankrupting that mine in 2002. The U.S. also had a national defense stockpile but sold most of it in 1998, while the last American processing plant in Texas was closing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During President Trump\u2019s first term, he ordered a list of \u201ccritical minerals\u2026 essential to the economic and national security of the United States, the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption.\u201d A recent executive order renewed that call for reducing American reliance on imports of critical minerals by increasing domestic production. The new mine is part of that strategy, and as Secretary Wright said, it is a beginning, not an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is impossible to overstate how important such minerals are, not just on a macro-economic level, but in everyone\u2019s daily life. Cell phones are so routine that we rarely ponder where they come from or what they are made of. They just look like glass and plastic, but their batteries are made of lithium, niobium, manganese, and tantalum. The screens and LCD displays contain aluminum. Besides silicon, microprocessors and circuit boards contain important components made from antimony, arsenic, and indium, soldered together with tin. Micro-capacitors are made of tantalum and platinum, the vibration motors have tungsten and neodymium weights, and the speaker magnets are made of arsenic and gallium. The outer casing is a carbon composite that includes magnesium. All those minerals have one thing in common \u2013 they are primarily produced in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman called the new mine \u201cthe dawn of a new era in American energy and national security,\u201d adding, \u201cWe are reclaiming our independence by tapping into the vast reserves of rare earth elements right beneath our feet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new mine will also eventually feature a processing facility for products like rare earth magnets and semiconductor chips, taking that monopoly away from China for the first time in generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. does not need a trade war with China over critical minerals. It does not require an agreement with Ukraine or anyone else for those minerals. It needs to produce domestically the products America\u2019s economy and security depend on \u2013 which it turns out are not that rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article originally appeared at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gregwalcher.com\/2025\/07\/25\/whats-so-rare-about-rare-earth-minerals\/\"><em>GregWalcher.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Energy Secretary Chris Wright went to Wyoming last week to cut the ribbon on the first new rare earth mine in the U.S. since the 1950s. Telling the assembled guests and reporters that the \u201cBrook Mine\u201d is critical to breaking China\u2019s \u201cstranglehold on rare earth processing,\u201d he hinted that it might be the first of several. It should be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":394023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"Explore the significance of rare earth minerals and the new U.S. mine that aims to reduce dependency on China for critical resources.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Reviving American Independence: The New Rare Earth Mine","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691818931,691833758,691829473,691836600,691819862],"class_list":{"0":"post-394021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-critical-minerals","10":"tag-energy-secretary-chris-wright","11":"tag-mojave-desert","12":"tag-rare-earth-mine","13":"tag-wyoming","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0biden-should-let-us-mine-the-rare-earths-his-energy-plans-depend-on-scaled-1.jpg?fit=2560%2C1541&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Evb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":388948,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=388948","url_meta":{"origin":394021,"position":0},"title":"First U.S. Rare Earth Mine In 70 Years Opens In Wyoming","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Wyoming marked a historic milestone with the ceremonial opening of the Brook Mine near Ranchester\u2014the first rare earth element (REE) mine in the United States in 70 years, and the first new coal mine in the state in nearly five decades. The event, attended by federal and state officials as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Brook Mine\"","block_context":{"text":"Brook Mine","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=brook-mine"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-431.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-431.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-431.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-431.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":410285,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=410285","url_meta":{"origin":394021,"position":1},"title":"China has announced stricter export controls on rare earth elements","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"China has repeatedly used these minerals as a bargaining chip in trade discussions as it controls the majority of the global rare-earth supply chain.","rel":"","context":"In \"aircraft engines\"","block_context":{"text":"aircraft engines","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=aircraft-engines"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNevgy7QnKlVIAA6Q5bufpj7rCyZwPBjELpNvv_DdbhsBjWGaMB2IbMFfHG6p787_qEumyZwNmsG3AaqSBjRO4VNOJxkeOwOL-iVCLdZSo8WK0oTpHAyamSrm2GtbKO-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C757&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNevgy7QnKlVIAA6Q5bufpj7rCyZwPBjELpNvv_DdbhsBjWGaMB2IbMFfHG6p787_qEumyZwNmsG3AaqSBjRO4VNOJxkeOwOL-iVCLdZSo8WK0oTpHAyamSrm2GtbKO-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C757&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNevgy7QnKlVIAA6Q5bufpj7rCyZwPBjELpNvv_DdbhsBjWGaMB2IbMFfHG6p787_qEumyZwNmsG3AaqSBjRO4VNOJxkeOwOL-iVCLdZSo8WK0oTpHAyamSrm2GtbKO-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C757&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNevgy7QnKlVIAA6Q5bufpj7rCyZwPBjELpNvv_DdbhsBjWGaMB2IbMFfHG6p787_qEumyZwNmsG3AaqSBjRO4VNOJxkeOwOL-iVCLdZSo8WK0oTpHAyamSrm2GtbKO-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C757&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNevgy7QnKlVIAA6Q5bufpj7rCyZwPBjELpNvv_DdbhsBjWGaMB2IbMFfHG6p787_qEumyZwNmsG3AaqSBjRO4VNOJxkeOwOL-iVCLdZSo8WK0oTpHAyamSrm2GtbKO-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C757&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":424319,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424319","url_meta":{"origin":394021,"position":2},"title":"Trump Admin Uses Equity Stakes, New Mines to Secure Critical Minerals Supply Chain","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/02\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Trump administration announced a major $1.6 billion funding package for USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR) on January 26, 2026. This deal, structured through a non- binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with the U.S. Department of Commerce's CHIPS Program, aims to accelerate domestic production of rare earth elements, processing, metal-\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":417107,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417107","url_meta":{"origin":394021,"position":3},"title":"The U.S. reenters the rare-earths race","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Successive administrations did little or nothing to halt the export of American skilled labor jobs, or even to promote skilled American labor as vital to national security. Unlike his predecessors, President Trump determined to promote American labor and restore mining and manufacturing as the pathway to a stronger nation and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\"","block_context":{"text":"Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australian-prime-minister-anthony-albanese"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMorKb-PbE9-PrO1YaFmRrZYudqwE2S3Od-PaXX4NMAf83KD4K3Fb4aIPu6ScJNG3UCcObFXATPINQcZo-3xXOeybuZcSdMnOKqowpPf7gy1_HsFByCNTMivPdg9bw.jpeg?fit=1178%2C780&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMorKb-PbE9-PrO1YaFmRrZYudqwE2S3Od-PaXX4NMAf83KD4K3Fb4aIPu6ScJNG3UCcObFXATPINQcZo-3xXOeybuZcSdMnOKqowpPf7gy1_HsFByCNTMivPdg9bw.jpeg?fit=1178%2C780&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, 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Reckoning","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. automakers remain heavily dependent on Chinese rare earths, making production vulnerable to export restrictions.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0AQNjHGtJvPByUgE_87gArKwTAcDO_YNHBRVzj18AkSvdSRfBSgvNo1eBWAKBZ3hM2P5rQ1i-82vs-ka1lRI108rpynBel-HylcU38Ospyy3fEFtul-uHFc0TVXxtJNbJ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, 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