(californiawatch.org) Amid intensifying concern about China’s domination of rare-earth metal supplies, a Colorado-based company is preparing its rare-earth mine in California’s Mojave Desert for full production by 2013.
The Mountain Pass mine, owned by Molycorp Minerals, will be the only producer of rare earths in the U.S.
Tiny amounts of rare-earth metals are used in many everyday devices, like cell phones and hard drives. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates [PDF] the United States uses about 5 percent of the world’s production of rare earths just for defense purposes. They are considered “rare” because while they are relatively abundant, they are seldom concentrated in one, easily exploitable location.
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