The latest batch of rare earth minerals have been discovered in the United States, with a major discovery unveiled on a 353,785-acre Texas ranch that could power significant amounts of technology if extracted.
It's becoming a common occurance for major deposits of valuable rare earth minerals to be discovered across the globe, and these will likely play a key role in the development and production of technology and clean energy over the next years and decades.
Japan made one of the world's biggest finds with a major manganese deposit at the bottom of the sea, and many of the world's richest individuals are fighting over a bounty of 'white gold' on American soil that could be a game changer for electric vehicles.
However, a state-owned Texas ranch might be the next treasure spot for valuable materials, offering a significant amount of rare earth materials hidden within the ground.
Where was the rare earth deposit found?
As reported by Chron, the currently undisclosed amount of rare earth materials was found on a ranch in Brewster County, Texas during a recent geological survey of the desert-like terrain.
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Intriguingly, the land itself is owned by the Texas General Land Office (GLO), which is a state-operated agency that could provide a major boost to the United States economy and technology production if the materials are successfully extracted.
The reason why discoveries like these in the United States are so valuable is because they lessen America's dependency on foreign nations - particularly China - for key materials used in all kinds of technology.
Companies require these materials to make everything from smartphones to military missile technology, and even the space world requires it to function, so if the US can source it in house it not only saves money but also buys political power.
Will the materials be extracted from the ranch?
While it seems like a no-brainer for extraction efforts to go ahead as soon as possible, it is a little more complex than that and there might be a major roadblock that could completely prevent the rare earth minerals from being touched.
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First and foremost it would be logistically difficult for extraction to occur, both in terms of reaching the material and getting it out of the ranch.
"Given the rugged terrain and remote location, any exploration or extraction would require signficant planning; however, the GLO is open to exploring these options in the future," outlined a GLO spokesperson when speaking to The Big Bend Sentinel.
Proceedings are very much still in the early stage following the survey, and it remains unclear so far how much and what exact materials exist within the land, and where the extraction would take place.
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This has been backed up by Brewster County Judge Greg Henington, who indicated that he doesn't "get the sense that rare earth is one of [the GLO's] plans. If it was, it's probably years away, just because of the difficulty of getting in there and getting out, and what do you do with them? Who can process them?"
Additionally, there are also valid concerns surrounding the environmental effect of mining, as it would almost definitely have a detrimental effect on nearby areas.
"Keep in mind, this is a highly toxic project that uses a lot of water and does lots of surface destruction because they'd be doing open pit mining using dangerous chemicals," revealed environmental activity Bill Addington, who echoed the opposition of his community to any mining or extraction efforts in the future.