California Mine Will Reopen to Meet U.S. Demand for Rare Earth Materials

so wait, they're saying this will supply ALL of the US demand, or that it will make up for the slack in the market caused by China's hoarding/price raising?

Its sort of sad because mining is bad for the environment. However, this was necessary,China had far too much control.

It was China's folly to sell rare goods at poverty prices.

i just hope this will create a few jobs...

some mining (other than coal) and manufacturing sounds promising.

Do we really not posses the technology to produce these special rare earth magnets? Does that mean we dont have the industrial tooling or that we do not actually have the knowledge? If these magnets are so fundamentally critical I would think that we would and not have to import them from Japan.

@eersrchr: As I understand it, the process for making this magnet is proprietary, and U.S. firms that work in this field don't hold the licenses to manufacture these particular magnets. So it's not that the U.S. isn't advanced enough to make them, but they don't have the licensed technology to do so. The deal with Hitachi Metals will allow the magnets to be manufactured here (jobs!) but via a Hitachi Metals-owned facility. That is to say, it's not a completely self-sufficient process for the U.S.

I love the comment that it is too bad the mine has to open because it was bad for the environment. Yeah it is fine as long as it was in China, but used in the US. That is an "environmentalist" for you.

I can't believe a thing like Lanthanide production wasn't more proactive. It seems like such an obvious blunder to want to criticize China for things like human rights violations, while at the same time having no other source for rare earth minerals already in place. It also makes it all the more difficult for the rest of the world to take such a political stance seriously, if China continues to get the same amount of sales regardless of how repressive it continues to be.

I love seeing people comment that mining is bad for the environment, and then get into their Prius (to go to the farmers market) that uses many kilos of rare earths, a ton of steel and aluminum, and plastics, that all have to be extracted from the earth. I am not claiming to be super smart or anything but IGNORANCE like that is what will end up being fatal to our economy. RESPONSIBILITY is what will allow us to be reasonable with resources while not holding back progress. Good luck, Humans.

As soon as the eco terrorists that inhabit the Obama administration, this effort will be stopped.

The Travel channel has been running a series of shows called Cash and Treasures that cover this topic.
http://genitalwartsreliefsite.com/genital-warts-few-treatments-to-provide-fast-and-effective-results.html

We still have an almost totally undeveloped resource in recyclable computers and mini devices and scrapped cars. Each year those recyclables are of less use or destroyed or buried in landfills. All the while the overall recycling market stays artificially depressed. Even understanding the costs involved in the overall recycling process, there IS in fact money to be made in it as well as many willing and out of work people that would take this stuff apart and bring it to market if it was worthwhile work. Our strategic resource conservation mandate is not being utilized in any meaningful way even as the materials become less recoverable. That much of this stuff is also harmful to the environment ensures the fact that many of the landfills are not going to be reusable, and groundwater throughout those areas will become toxic instead of being returned to 99% of the natural state required for those independent corporations that run that industry. Now while not exactly being what some call a tree hugger, I recognize wasted resource and potential very well.

I can't believe it. We are actually going to mine in Kalifornia and create jobs. Does this mean we will have the backbone to drill in Alaska or reprocess our "used" nuclear fuel?

moar rare "earhts!"