Rare earth elements are a set of 17 silvery white metals with names mostly unknown to the general public, like neodymium and gadolinium. But the mining industry is spending millions of dollars looking for deposits throughout the Mountain West.
That鈥檚 because rare earth elements , including the making of cell phones, wind turbines and electric vehicles. currently dominates the market. Travis Deti with the Wyoming Mining Association recently to state legislators the importance of growing America鈥檚 supply. estimates that the global rare earth minerals market could nearly double by 2028.
鈥淭he train is leaving the station, and we need to be on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen you have companies on the ground, you have jobs. You're generating revenue.鈥�
Contrary to their name, rare earth elements are fairly common across the Mountain West. One company is exploring projects in , and . According to Deti, states will be in competition with each other over the next few years as they try to make themselves more attractive to industry interests.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of stuff in the ground, and we need to expand our mining operations,鈥� he told Wyoming lawmakers. 鈥淭his is the opportunity to bring in that new sector.鈥�
Like traditional hardrock mining, mining other so-called 鈥済reen metals鈥� with uses in renewable energy projects comes with consequences. In Idaho, has created concern over potential air and water pollution, and is also playing out over a lithium mine in Nevada. , however, they鈥檒l play a similar role in conversations about the future of renewable energy infrastructure in the Mountain West.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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