Featured Image Credit: American Rare Earths/MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES/Getty
Following the election, billionaire Elon Musk has been warning that the US economy is looming towards bankruptcy and urging President Donald Trump to consider Bitcoin as a solution to the country’s ever-increasing debt.
However, America might have just found a new path to financial strength after a discovery of incredibly rare materials was made in the country.
Right now, China leads the world in manufacturing, producing 95% of all rare earth minerals and holding over 31% of global manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the US relies on importing about 74% of its minerals and holds only a 15% share in global manufacturing.
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But this gap could start to close thanks to a lucky find by American Rare Earths in Wyoming that hit the jackpot with the land they drilled earlier this year.
The team uncovered a treasure trove of rare minerals, including neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, dysprosium, and terbium.
So far, American Rare Earths have only drilled 25% of land in their project so there could be much more to discover.
The kinds of minerals found are widely used in technology such as smartphones, hybrid cars and aircrafts, as well as light bulbs and lamps.
Following a ban on extraction in December 2023, American Rare Earths has been working to break China's record.
The company first started drilling in March 2023 and estimated 1.2 million metric tons of minerals in Wyoming.
In fact, American Rare Earths have actually increased its yield by over two thirds.
According to CEO Don Schwartz: “These results are illustrative of the enormous potential of the project when the resource increased by 64 percent during a developmental drilling campaign, which increased measured/indicated resources by 128 percent.
“Typically, you’ll see the resource decrease as infill drilling takes place – instead, we’re seeing the opposite, with only 25% of the project being drilled to this point."
But American Rare Earths aren't the only ones making discoveries in rare materials after Ramaco Resources came across a deposit of such near Sheridan in Wyoming, valued at around $37 billion.
Speaking to Cowboy State Daily, Ramaco Resources CEO, Randall Atkins, said: “We only tested it for 100, 200 feet, which is about the maximum you’d ever want to do a conventional coal mine.
“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.”
Despite this, American Rare Earths has dismissed the estimate.
“Our resources is on an order of magnitude larger than the Ramaco Resources number,” said Schwartz.
“If you did the same thing for it, you’d come up with a lot bigger number, but that doesn’t take into account whether you can [mine and process] more economically, or even do it.”
If these discoveries pan out, they could give a huge boost to the US industry, and ultimately help America solidify its position on the world stage.
