2 ms·
> So MP Minerals got the US Department of Defense to fund a separation plant at Mountain Pass. Are there any other contenders or did this come with any guarant
by modo_mario 2y ago
> So MP Minerals got the US Department of Defense to fund a separation plant at Mountain Pass.
Are there any other contenders or did this come with any guarantees of this yet another example of oneside public-private partnerships?
- Animats 2y agoThere are other rare-earth deposits in the US, at least two in Wyoming and one in Arizona.[1] A different group claims to have a big find in Colorado. The Wyoming people claim to have found a deposit so big that if they built a large mine, they'd crash the rare earths market. Those are all in exploration stage, with no production. MP Minerals was mining ore and shipping beneficiated ore to China for further refining. So it made sense from a DoD national security perspective to fund on site refining in California. DoD only funded one of the four steps from mine to magnets. [1] https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/02/07/rare-earths-discovery-near-wheatland-so-big-it-could-be-world-leader/ https://cowboystatedaily.com/2024/02/07/rare-earths-discover...