Rare Earth elementsLarge rare earth deposit discovered near California mine

Molycorp Minerals recently announced that it had discovered significant deposits of heavy rare earth minerals near its mine in Mountain Pass, California and production could begin in as little as two years.

The company believes the latest discovery could help break U.S. dependence on China, the world’s largest supplier of rare earth metals. According to the company, the deposit they discovered contains a high percentage of heavy rare earth metals, a rare occurrence.

“You can probably count on one hand the number of rare earth deposits where there are a predominant amount of heavies,” said Jim Sims, Molycorp’s vice president of corporate communications. “Finding terbium and dysprosium is a big deal. It will increase supply for most applications.”

Rare earth deposits often contain a mixture of light and heavy elements usually with a significantly higher concentration of light metals. Both elements are used in the creation of modern technology like LCD screens and compact fluorescent bulbs, but building hybrid car batteries, wind turbines, and military equipment requires more heavy elements to ensure that magnetized materials can withstand high temperatures.

The Mountain Pass Mine was once the world’s leading source for rare earth materials, but the mine was eventually closed in 2002 due to the environmentally damaging removal process and low-cost competition from China.

China now supplies more than 95 percent of the world’s rare earth elements and as much as 99 percent of the heavy metals, but in recent years the country has scaled back its exports causing instability in the global market.

In response to supply chain disruptions, many nations and businesses have sought to break China’s stranglehold of the rare earth market. Mining companies are currently surveying sites around the world including Canada, Alaska, and Australia, but Molycorp has been the first to declare that it had found a viable source.

Company representatives sound optimistic about the new deposit, but analysts remain skeptical about the company’s ability to deliver.

“I’m highly skeptical of the real impact of the announcement this week,” says Gareth Hatch, the co-founder of Technology Metals Research. “We’re being asked to take it on faith that it will happen, but it doesn’t work like that.”

According to Sims, preliminary measurements of the grade, mineral matrix, and size of the ore deposit indicate that it is favorable to commercial extraction, but still too early in the process to go public with the data.

In the company’s 8-K statement it wrote, “Molycorp must do extensive test drilling to determine the quantity and quality of the deposit. Accordingly, there can be no assurance as to the quantity or quality of such rare earth deposit or that such deposit will become proven or probable reserves.”