U.S. is Perilously behind in rare earths Arena

A fine-grained volcanic rock (trachyte) that hosts rare earth elements niobium and zirconium, considered critical mineral resources. This rock was found on Pennington Mountain in Maine.

— Image courtesy of Chunzeng Wang, University of Maine-Presque Isle

Geologists have identified Pennington Mountain as potentially a very important source of rare earth minerals, which are essential for key U.S. industrial sectors. Read Llewellyn King’s column on how America has failed by a long shot to adequately develop rare earth mining and processing.