Rare earth minerals are very important to geeks. These expensive and difficult to mine materials are used in some of the most popular gadgets on the market today. If you own a TV, laptop, or any of the latest handheld gadgets such as a tablet or smartphone, chances are there is some rare earth component included in the manufacturing process.
Deposits of these minerals are usually quite small meaning mining them is expensive and time consuming. Areas with high concentrations worth mining also seem to be quite rare, with China being the main area where mining is done. That’s not a great situation to be in as China holds around 97% of the market at the moment, so there’s ongoing exploration to find new locations worth mining elsewhere in the world.
We’ve already seen 26 locations in the Pacific Ocean have high concentrations of these minerals deep below the sea bed, but now a tiny village in Nebraska has also been found to be rich in deposits. So rich in fact, it may be the largest untapped deposit on earth.
The 112 people living in Elk Creek are understandably very happy about this discovery as it has brought new investment to their village. Initial discovery drilling by Quantum Rare Earths Developments Corp. has returned positive results for a rich vein of rare earth minerals and niobium–used in steel production, superalloys, and superconducting magnets to name but a few uses.
Elk Creek is now likely to become a new, and very important mining location going forward. Not only does this discovery remove the need to go to China for rare earth minerals, it also creates new jobs, generates revenue, and guarantees supplies for many years to come.
More at The Washington Times