American Rare Earths Inc.
The mining company, American Rare Earths Inc., holds a significant stake in over 360 mining claims across a vast swath of land amounting to over 6,300 acres in the Halleck Creek Project, alongside four Wyoming mineral leases on nearly 2,00 acres.
Source: Wikimedia
The company conducted drilling on reserves near Wheatland, Wyoming, which led to the discovery that an estimated 2.34 billion tons of rare minerals were buried in the ground.
A Big Discovery in Wyoming
In a technical report released earlier this month, American Rare Earths–the US division of a Sydney, Australia-registered exploration company–disclosed that it had found 64% more rare earth minerals than it had originally speculated to discover in a March 2023 land assessment.
Source: Library of Congress/Picryl
Donald Schwartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, told Cowboy State Daily about the surprise upgrade: “Typically, resource decreases as infill drilling progresses. Instead, we’re seeing the opposite, with only 25% of the project drilled to this point.”
Wyoming Reserves Far Surpass That of China
According to a spokesperson from American Rare Earths, the minerals buried beneath the ground in Wyoming far exceed those of the US’s largest contributor, China, which holds around 44 million metric tons of rare minerals.
Source: Wikimedia
After drilling just 25% of the land initially, the company knew they had struck gold. It “exceeded our wildest dreams,” they said in a statement.
What Are Rare Minerals Used For?
The type of minerals in question are integral to economies around the world as they are used in the production of electric and hybrid vehicles, smartphones, and military technologies, amongst a plethora of other things.
Source: Oliver Llaneza Hesse/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images
The discovery of such an enormous amount of rare minerals in Wyoming should drastically alter the market, which is currently heavily controlled by China.
The US’s Reliance on Rare Earths Minerals
While rare earths are fundamental to our daily technologies, they are also critical in all military technologies, making them central to national security in the US. However, these minerals were traditionally “dirty” to mine, meaning they left behind significant waste and damage to the land.
Source: Freepik
Production tended to level water pollution, toxic sludge, and radioactive elements in its wake, making the mining production that once made Wyoming and Montana profitable states to live in wastelands.
A Hot Community
But times have changed as rare-earth exports have become a hot commodity that the world’s largest producer pulled the plug on in 2023. The reliance means vulnerability for the US, putting pressure on competitors to find a new source on its home turf.
Source: MyFDOT_NEFL/X
North America has natural abundance when it comes to resources, with Wyoming’s latest finds sparking mining excitement in a new generation as the US becomes self-reliant.
America's Dependence on China Set to Change
Up to 95% of the rare minerals used in manufacturing around the world are sourced from China, with the United States importing nearly 75% of its supply from the Asian country.
Source: Freepik
Following China’s announcement of a ban on the mining of rare minerals in December 2023, Don Swartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, claims the decision came about because “China is driven to maintain its market dominance.”
US May Gain Edge on Chinese Market
If the US can successfully mine the rare minerals, it may usher in a new era of competition in the market. It may even give them a significant edge over nations such as China and Russia.
Source: Freepik
“If wisely exploited, this find—estimated to be the richest in the world—will give the U.S. an unparalleled economic and geopolitical edge against China and Russia for the foreseeable future,” wrote the Wall Street Journal.
The United States Could Become a Market Leader
Following the discovery of the minerals at Halleck Creek, experts have suggested that the United States could become the world’s number one supplier of such minerals.
Source: Wikimedia
“The lode at Halleck Creek has the potential to make the U.S. the world’s largest processor of the minerals used to make computer chips, smartphones, and aircraft engines,” wrote the Journal.
The Push to Diversify the US Economy
Of course, smart resource regulation is necessary. However, researchers and corporations behind these mining efforts know more today than we ever have about how to protect the environment while powering a diverse economy through natural resources.
Source: Freepik
According to the WSJ, the US will need to support the idea of ethical mining to promote this diverse economy, which will help the country end its reliance on China.
Growing the Market for Rare Earth Minerals
Currently, the worldwide demand for rare-earth minerals stands at about 60,000 tons annually. American Rare Earths could move the mining operations to 320 acres of permitted land. However, a bigger mine does not mean that the world is ready for the resources that come from it.
Source: Diego Delso
Swartz doubts that the market is ready for the volume of natural resources in Wyoming, stating, “We’re trying to make something that’s modular and scalable, that can grow in the market over time.”
The World’s Largest Natural Resource Provider
Despite the Biden administration’s rhetoric against drilling as they fight for a green future, the US remains the world’s largest oil producer. According to the WSJ, 44.4 billion barrels of crude oil reserves are collected a year, and we export more petroleum than import.
Source: Wikimedia
The US coal industry is the fourth-largest producer in the world with nearly 6000 million short tons in 2022. The best part: the US is extracting all of these resources in a cleaner and more environmentally safe way compared to China and India.
Refusal to Move on Its Advantage
However, the US refuses to press on its natural advantages, which could provide a diverse, thriving economy in the country, as it continues to manage its complicated relationship with China.
Source: Christopher Skor/Unsplash
While China gears up to open up a megaport that could challenge US-China relations and the ever-growing concern about Chinese-owned US farmland near military bases sparks a conversation around national security, the discovery of rare earths could open up a new chapter in the US.
The Rare Minerals in Wyoming
The drilling carried out at the site in Wyoming has uncovered oxides of praseodymium, samarium, terbium dysprosium, and neodymium. The latter is used in the production of hard disc drives and smartphones.
Source: Wikimedia
Whereas “praseodymium” is used in high-strength alloys in aircraft engines. Dysprosium is used to make control rods in nuclear reactors, and terbium is used in low-energy lightbulbs and mercury lamps,” wrote the Daily Mail.
A New Generation of American Manufacturing
Once the mining work begins at the site, it will undoubtedly open up the US to a new generation of manufacturing, one that can use rare minerals sourced nationally.
Source: Freepik
According to the WSJ, it “could help power a new generation of American manufacturing, ensure a supply of military-critical materials, and further reduce American reliance on trade with China.”
The Extraction Process
To mine the rare minerals, American Rare Earths will likely opt for the traditional extraction process, which involves digging a large open pit on the surface and working downwards.
Source: Wikimedia
This is opposed to creating an expansive tunnel system. One example of such a mine is the extensive Bingham Canyon mine near Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s around two-and-a-half miles wide and extends to a depth of three-quarters of a mile.
The New Gold Rush
The hunt for rare minerals is strikingly similar to the Gold Rush of the 19th century, and American Rare Earths isn’t the only company in the race.
Source: Wikimedia
The US-based company Ramaco Resources has its own stake near Sheridan, Wyoming, that could be worth around $37 billion. While significantly lower than American Rare Earth’s, it’s still on par with China’s reserves in the ground.
CEO Speaks on Future Plans
According to Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins, who shared a statement with Cowboy State Daily: “We only tested it for 100, 200 feet, which is about the maximum you’d ever want to do a conventional coal mine.”
Source: Freepik
“Much deeper than that, and the cost would be prohibitive to mine for $15-a-ton coal. But there are seams that go down almost to 1,000 feet. So, we’re drilling down into the deeper levels to see what’s down there.”
Planning for the Next 30 Years
Over the last few months, the company has been releasing cost estimates and other economic projections on the development at the Halleck site in the Overton Mountain area. Included in these projections are the value of the minerals that could be mined over the next 30 years.
Source: Pixabay/Picryl
American Rare Earths is hoping to mine to a depth of 1,000 feet, which would be roughly twice as deep as March’s first dig. This dig could reveal ore that is more extensive and of higher quality than anything found so far.
The Largest Discovery of Minerals in the World
Mining.com has ranked the Halleck Creek rare-earths find as the fifth largest discovery of minerals in the world before Swartz’s company discovered the plethora of resources available.
Source: American Rare Earths Inc.
Swartz hopes that the next rankings from the site will see Halleck Creek move up the rankings to the top spot. “We’ll move up to No. 1 of what could be mined,” said Swartz.
Other Players in the Rare-Earths Game
It should be noted that Wyoming is big enough for multiple players in the rare-earth minerals game. In early 2023, Ramaco Resources announced that it found a deposit of rare earths on 16,000 acres of coal mines near Sheridan, Wyoming.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
According to an estimate calculated by the WSJ (via Cowboy State Daily), the rare-earth minerals could be worth nearly $37 billion.
A Bigger Number Than Projected
However, Swartz said that Ramaco Resources’ findings might be worth a lot more than they estimated. “Our resources are an order of magnitude larger than the Ramaco Resources number,” he said.
Source: Freepik
“If you did the same thing for it, you’d come up with a much bigger number, but that doesn’t take into account whether you can [mine and process] more economically, or even do it.”
A New Mining Process
Rare Element Rouses Ltd., a Canadian exploration company, is setting up a mine on another large rare-earth deposit in Wyoming, hoping to use a new mining process that promises to speed up rare-earth processing.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The company, which controls 100% of the Bear Lodge mineral rights held through federal mining claims, is putting $44 million into its mining operations, hoping that it will change the game of rare-earth production in the US.