Key Takeaways
The first domestic rare earth mine in 70 years, Ramaco’s Brook Mine, opened in Ranchester, Wyoming, and will be producing ore in the 2028-to-2029 timeframe.
China currently holds the dominant position in rare earth mining and processing, which it has developed over decades.
Rare earths are needed in the manufacture of smartphones, electric vehicles, advanced medical devices, oil refining equipment, missile guidance systems, and many other products.
The United States has another operating rare earth mine in California, for which the Department of Defense recently purchased $400 million worth of stock, a 15% stake, to obtain rare earth magnets and to help share the risk inherent in a global market dominated by China.
For the United States to be successful in developing a mining industry in rare earths and other critical minerals, it will need to reform permitting — a process that can take, on average, seven to 10 years and even more if the project faces litigation.
The United States opened its first domestic rare earth mine in 70 years: Ramaco’s Brook Mine in Ranchester, Wyoming. It is part of the Trump administration’s effort to develop a rare earth industry needed in the manufacture of important products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, advanced medical devices, oil refining equipment, missile guidance systems, and many others. China currently holds the dominant position in rare earth mining and processing, which it has developed over decades. The Trump administration, however, is committed to expanding opportunities to increase domestic production of rare earth elements, such as dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium, alongside other minerals such as graphite, copper, and nickel, which comprise the U.S. Geological Survey’s “list of critical minerals.” The United States has only one other rare earth mine — the Mountain Pass Mine in California — and the Department of Defense recently purchased $400 million worth of stock in it.
For the United States to be successful in developing a mining industry, it will need to reform permitting. The timeframe for obtaining mining permits is so long that even cutting it in half would push new mine development beyond the end of Trump’s current term. Reinvigorating American mining will not be quick and may not be certain, as a different administration could reapply the brakes to opening new mines and deter private investment. Perhaps most importantly, China’s dominance in processing critical minerals once they are extracted from the ground, due to its lax environmental rules and cheap coal power, makes its dominant position in the global market even stronger, and competition from emerging markets more difficult.
It currently takes more than seven years to secure a permit for mining commodities other than coal or gravel on public land. Any new mining effort must go through several federal agencies and regulations. The original legislation affecting mines is the General Mining Law of 1872. But today, environmental impact statements are required by the National Environmental Policy Review Act, which generally takes three to five years to complete. Other required considerations and processes affecting mine approval include compliance with the Endangered Species Act, securing water rights, obtaining discharge permits through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, conducting consultations with Native American tribes, and obtaining and addressing public comments. The process takes, on average, seven to 10 years, unless the project faces litigation, in which case the process can take more than a decade with associated legal bills. Green groups have found ways to lengthen the process by demanding that additional environmental actions be reviewed.
Ramaco’s Brook Mine Background
In 2011, Ramaco bought property in Wyoming and began planning for the mine in 2012. The first permit application was filed in 2014 for a coal mine. Two years later, in 2016, the company found that it had “heavy” rare earth elements like gallium and scandium co-mingled with the coal. After more regulatory hurdles, the mine was approved in 2020. Production is now ramping up, but the company does not expect to have supplies of rare earths until 2028 or 2029, and that date is based on everything continuing to run smoothly. Despite Ramaco having secured the property in 2011, it could end up being 17 or 18 years before it produces rare earths, mostly due to the arduous U.S. permitting process, which has prevented many mining projects in the country from moving forward.
Ramaco’s original mine permit was for a 2-million-ton-per-year production level. The Trump administration now wants it to consider accelerating its commercial timeframe and produce rare earth element oxides with a production increase in the range of seven to 10 million tons per year.
China’s Dominance
As explained by RealClear Investigations, China is the top producer of 30 of the 50 minerals the United States considers critical, and 90% of the 17 elements that comprise rare earths. Given that position, China has control of the global market’s supply and demand. For example, China can undercut new supply sources by flooding the market with a mineral, lowering the price, and making the new project less attractive. China can also do the opposite by imposing sharp limits on supplies available to U.S. companies, hampering manufacturing production, and making it much more expensive, as it has done to counter Trump’s tariffs.
Another Wyoming Project
As part of a Trump-initiated project, Earth MRI, Wyoming scientists are studying the Phosphoria Formation — an area that was rich in oil and gas encompassing parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado — for other resources, particularly deposits of rare earth elements. The Wyoming State Geological Survey is collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey on geochemical analysis of the formation.
Analysis
Onerous mining regulations have placed the United States at both a competitive disadvantage in the global market and into a vulnerable national security position due to the surrendering of control of vital critical minerals supply chains to China. The situation is dire, given the excessive time it takes for a mine to become operational and the expense it takes just to get to the point of breaking ground on a new operation. Not only does the approval process need to be shortened for national security purposes, given the rare earths that are required for military hardware, but the reshoring of manufacturing must also be considered to close the unnecessary supply chain vulnerabilities.
China has masterfully taken control of the rare earths market, from extraction to refining, and, in doing so, has made the global market reliant on them for everything from smartphones to components for night-vision headgear. The opening of new mining operations in Wyoming is a tremendous step in the right direction; however, being still years away from agreed-upon deliveries to the Department of Defense, it highlights the need for a temporary solution in the present with other, more reliable global partners, while domestic production and refining catch up.
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