Wyoming's rare earth find challenges china's market hold
The discovery of over 2 billion tons of rare earth elements in Wyoming could significantly disrupt China's current dominance in this sector. American Rare Earths announced that only 25% of the exploration area has been surveyed so far, indicating a much greater potential for additional deposits.
2:13 PM EST, November 14, 2024
The United States now has a chance to significantly reduce its reliance on importing strategic minerals. Currently, the country imports about 74% of these vital raw materials, while its contribution to global industrial production stands at only 15%. In contrast, China dominates the field, producing 95% of the world’s rare earth elements and accounting for 31% of global industrial production.
American Rare Earths began drilling operations in March 2023, initially estimating they had discovered 1.2 million metric tons of resources. However, recent studies have revealed a significantly greater potential in the deposit. The company's CEO, Don Schwartz, emphasizes that resources have increased by 64% during the drilling campaign, with measurable and indicated resources spiking by as much as 128%.
Competitive discovery in Wyoming
In the same region, another company, Ramaco Resources, also reported a significant find. Near the town of Sheridan, rare earth element deposits were discovered and are preliminarily valued at $37 billion. Randall Atkins, CEO of Ramaco Resources, explains that current drilling has reached depths of only 328-656 feet, while the seams could extend as deep as 984 feet.
However, American Rare Earths questions their competitor’s estimates. Don Schwartz claims, "Our resources is on an order of magnitude larger than the Ramaco Resources number." He emphasizes, though, that the key factor will be the economic viability of extracting and processing these raw materials.
Strategic significance of the discovery
The discovered deposits contain a range of valuable elements, including neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, dysprosium, and terbium. These minerals are crucial for the production of modern technologies, being used in smartphones, hybrid cars, the aerospace industry, and lighting production.
For the American economy, these discoveries could be groundbreaking, especially in light of the mining ban introduced in December 2023. The success of this project could enable the United States to reduce its dependence on imports of strategic raw materials and bolster its position in the global supply chain.
