A Rare Opportunity

The U.S. faces a major challenge when it comes to sustaining our current leadership in global technological innovation, and it starts with rare earth elements.

Rare earths (REEs) are an unusual group of elements that have unique chemical and physical properties. They fall into two groups: light and heavy.

• Light elements, such as cerium and lanthanum are used in aerospace applications, as catalysts, batteries and metallurgical applications.
• Heavy elements, such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium, are used to enhance permanent magnet performance under extreme conditions for EV motors, wind turbines, and advanced technologies in telecommunications, aerospace and defense.

These materials enable massive leaps in the miniaturization and advancement of modern technologies, from smartphones and medical imaging equipment to renewable energy systems. They’re also essential to advanced radar and sonar, next-generation aircraft and countless commercial applications.

But to truly harness and sustain this potential, the U.S. needs to transform its dependence on foreign rare earth supply chains into domestic leadership.

The U.S. possesses vast, largely untapped rare earth resources that could fundamentally reshape global supply dynamics, but only if we can secure the necessary funding and overcome the regulatory/processing bottlenecks that keep these reserves locked in the ground.

There are major projects across the country that have incredible potential. USA Rare Earth’s (USARE’s) Round Top project in West Texas encompasses 360 million metric tons of heavy-rare-earth-rich ore, while Niocorps Elk Creek Project in Nebraska contains an estimated 297 million metric tons. MP Materials Mountain Pass Mine in California — currently America's only active rare earth mine — holds 13.6 million metric tons of ore. Additional significant U.S. REE resources are located in Wyoming, Arizona, Alaska and Montana.

If just the six largest potential U.S. projects were fully developed, America’s total rare earth oxide holdings could significantly close the resource gap with China and Brazil, reducing our “over-dependence” on external supply chain resources.

By aggressively pursuing these domestic projects, and even accounting for variations in ore grade and extraction efficiency, the U.S. could approach independence and become a significant global supplier.

The global supply of rare earth materials is currently dominated by China, which also controls more than 90 percent of global rare earth separation and processing capacity.

By contrast, the U.S. currently holds just 1.4 million metric tons in active reserves with no processing capacity. Moreover, it’s sourced from just one site in California, and that concentration creates vulnerabilities across sectors, from consumer electronics to renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Current U.S. REE consumption is by some estimates between 10,000 and 20,000 metric tons annually. This demand is expected to grow to well over 40,000 tons by 2030 with an expected 10% annual growth rate. Without near term access to our domestic resources, America’s technology sector, clean energy transition and industrial competitiveness face potential disruption precisely when global competition demands greater supply chain resilience.

But America’s raw, untapped reserves present a generational opportunity for American industrial development.

These raw reserves are just the beginning, because mining ore is merely the first step in a complex value chain. The real opportunity — and challenge — lies in processing: the chemically intricate work of separating and refining raw materials into pure rare earth oxides and finished components. Several early-stage U.S. projects are under way to address this gap.

This is where decades of focused investment overseas — particularly China — have created market dominance. Looking forward, this eventual domestic infrastructure buildout will affect every sector of America’s economy:

Power infrastructure: Processing facilities require reliable, high-capacity electrical systems comparable to small industrial cities, creating opportunities for grid modernization, renewable energy integration and distributed generation solutions.

Transportation networks: Transporting raw ore and REE concentrate to processing and manufacturing could require upgraded rail, highways and logistics hubs capable of safely and efficiently handling specialized materials from remote mining regions.

Water and environmental systems: Advanced rare earth processing relies on rigorous environmental controls, including sophisticated water, air and waste management systems that establish higher standards for responsible resource development.

Industrial construction: The facilities themselves represent major engineering undertakings, requiring specialized materials handling systems, chemical processing infrastructure and integrated plant design.

Energy sector integration: Rare earths drive the clean energy transition — powering wind turbines, electric vehicle motors, and advanced batteries — while domestic production strengthens a self‑reinforcing system where U.S. energy infrastructure relies on secure supply.

Current permitting timelines are beginning to accelerate through initiatives like the U.S. Federal FAST-41 program. We are helping many mining clients navigate this accelerated permitting process, including Rare Earth Resources, a long-time client with a major rare earth element project in Wyoming.

We serve as a comprehensive partner in advancing rare earth projects from concept to production, notably the USARE Round Top Project in Texas with our team partner Fluor and RER’s Bear Lodge Project in Wyoming. With global experience — including long-term work at MP Materials Mountain Pass Mine and projects in Brazil and Australia — our firm provides integrated technical expertise across the full project lifecycle.

Our recent engagements at the Bear Lodge Project, Round Top and Ramaco’s Brooke Project bode well for domestic rare earth development, as each of them moves through critical permitting toward detailed engineering and construction.

Leveraging strengths across infrastructure, transportation, power, environmental services, industrial systems and program/construction management, we apply proven project delivery methodologies. As U.S. production expands, supporting supply chains — from chemical suppliers and equipment manufacturers to testing labs and component fabricators — must grow accordingly.

Each new REE mine and processing facility strengthens a broader industrial ecosystem, creating significant regional economic benefits.

America’s rare earth opportunity represents more than supply chain diversification. It embodies the practical path toward maintaining technological leadership in sectors defining our economy now and into the future — from clean energy and advanced manufacturing to telecommunications and next-generation computing.

The question is no longer whether the U.S. has the resources for rare earth independence, but whether we can finance, staff and execute the projects required to extract and process these materials. This moment represents a defining opportunity for U.S. domestic mining and many related industries.