Still Not Tired of Winning: First New American Rare-Earth Mine in 70 Years

The good news on the energy and technology fronts just keeps on a'coming. In the latest, the Department of Energy on Wednesday announced the opening of the first new American rare-earth mining project in 70 years. The Ramaco Brook Mine, in Wyoming, is estimated to contain as much as 1.7 million tons of rare earth oxide.

This is a big freaking deal.

The groundbreaking discovery at the Ramaco Brook Mine marks a turning point for America as the first new rare earth facility in 7 DECADES, containing 1.7 MILLION tons of rare earth oxides.

Developing American supply chains for rare earth minerals STRENGTHENS our energy security.

— U.S. Department of Energy (@ENERGY) July 9, 2025

The Washington Examiner has more details.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright will attend the opening of the first rare earth mine in the United States in more than 70 years.

Taking place on July 11 at Ramaco’s iCAM Technology Center in Ranchester, Wyoming, the event celebrating the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project will host speakers from the national and state levels, according to a press release.

“This is more than a ribbon cutting — it’s a declaration of America’s resolve to reclaim its leadership in critical minerals and energy independence,” Ramaco Resources Chairman and CEO Randall W. Atkins said. “We are proud that Ramaco will be developing the first new mine to lead the United States in creating a viable domestic supply line of strategic rare earths and critical minerals.”

We currently import about 70 percent of our rare earth minerals from China. We import 100 percent of the minerals Scandium and Yttrium. Scandium is used to make aluminum alloys heavily used in aircraft, along with its use in light sources. Yttrium has a wide range of uses, from electronics to medical applications.

Also, the Brooks Mine project is a major coal producer.

The Brook Mine project, Wyoming’s first new coal mine in more than 50 years, has been years in the making since Ramaco first submitted its permit application to mine in 2014, according to Global Energy Monitor.

As of this writing, there has been no estimate released of what specific rare earth minerals are found in the Ramaco Brook Mine site, just the overall tonnage stated above. 

See Also: Energy Win: Alaska's Willow Project Will Now Proceed

Winning: Trump Admin OKs Reopening of Utah Uranium Mine

China, too, has recently suspended shipment of some rare earth metals to the United States in response to President Trump's tariffs. While China is the world's largest producer of rare earth minerals, North America - the United States and Canada - has considerable reserves, as well. The next hurdle will be refining capacity. China is not only the world's largest producer of rare earth minerals, but it also has, at present, about 90 percent of rare earth processing capacity.

That's not a good situation for us to be in. But in this project and others soon to be underway (including, hopefully, here in Alaska), the United States will be moving back towards not only energy independence but technology independence. Rare earth minerals are vital in this; these minerals are used in almost every aspect of our modern technological lifestyle, from electric vehicles to computers to cellular phones. 

And, no, we're not tired of winning. Not by a long shot.

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