BISMARCK, N.D. — Geologists in North Dakota are starting to learn more about the recent discovery of rare earth minerals in the southwestern part of the state. Crews are finding gallium and germanium beneath the 30-foot thick rocks. These minerals are critical in almost all advanced electronics like wind turbines and electric motors.
What makes these minerals even more rare is that they come from lignite. Experts say this makes the extraction low-cost and environmentally friendly.
The North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources also says some samples are enriched 40 times more than average rare earth minerals.
“North Dakota has an advantage because we have so much lignite,” said North Dakota Geological Survey Geologist, Levi Moxness. “And lignite seems to be higher, to contain higher concentrations of rare earth and some of these other critical minerals. They consider it a strategic liability. So, for North Dakota to play a role in maybe reducing the U.S. reliance on China and some of these other countries, I think that would be a very big deal. And there is a lot of bipartisan support.”
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, is competing with West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, for $120 million dollars in federal funding in order to build a processing facility for these rare earth elements. The global market for these elements is nearly $4 trillion dollars each year.
