2010-11-20

Map: rare earth ores in the USA

The US has 13 million tonnes of rare earth elements but it would take years to extract them, suggests the first detailed report on the country's supply.

Source: USGS
Via: NewScientist

Full PDF report here

A new report finds significant deposits of rare earth elements in 14 states, with the largest known deposits at Mountain Pass, California; Bokan Mountain, Alaska; and the Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyoming. "Placer" deposits are sandy sediments that sometimes contain rare earths. Phosphorite deposits, which mostly occur in the southeastern US, sometimes contain the rare earth elements yttrium and lanthanum (Image: USGS)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've read that China's extraction techniques are... crude(?) and there was little environmental protection. Now, if the USA were to extract these, what can they use to be more environmentally friendly? Does China lack the technology to do the same? Or was it just an issue of money (they were selling those rares cheap so high cost 'safe and ev-friendly extraction is out).