http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Pass_rare_earth_mineThe Mountain Pass rare earth mine is an open-pit mine of rare earth elements (REEs) on the south flank of the Clark Mountain Range and just north of the unincorporated community of Mountain Pass, California, United States. The mine, owned by Molycorp Minerals, once supplied most of the world's rare earth elements. It is presently inactive, but is projected to reopen in 2011.
Current activity
The mine, once the world's dominant producer of rare earth elements, was closed in large part due to competition from REEs imported from China, which in 2009 supplied more than 96% of the world's REEs. Since 2007 China has restricted exports of REEs and imposed export tariffs, both to conserve resources and to give preference to Chinese manufacturers. Some outside China are concerned that because rare earths are essential to some high-tech, renewable-energy, and defense-related technologies, the world should not be reliant on a single source.
Environmental Impact
In 1998, chemical processing at the mine was stopped after a series of wastewater leaks. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of water carrying radioactive waste spilled into and around Ivanpah Dry Lake.In the 1980s, the company began piping wastewater as far as 14 miles to evaporation ponds on or near Ivanpah Dry Lake, east of Interstate 15 near Nevada. This pipeline repeatedly ruptured during cleaning operations to remove mineral deposits called scale. The scale is radioactive because of the presence of thorium and radium, which occur naturally in the rare earth ore. A federal investigation later found that some 60 spills—some unreported—occurred between 1984 and 1998, when the pipeline was shut down. In all, about 600,000 gallons of radiological and other hazardous waste flowed onto the desert floor, according to federal authorities. By the end of the 1990s, Unocal had been hit with a cleanup order and a San Bernardino County district attorney's lawsuit. The company paid more than $1.4 million in fines and settlements. After preparing a cleanup plan and completing an extensive environmental study, Unocal in 2004 won approval of a county permit that allowed the mine to operate for another 30 years. The mine also passed a key county inspection in 2007.
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Pentagon Sees No Rare-Earths Crisis; May Aid U.S. Producershttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-30/pentagon-sees-no-security-threat-from-rare-earths-may-aid-u-s-producers.htmlThe U.S. Defense Department has concluded that China’s monopoly on rare-earth materials, used in military hardware such as missile guidance and radar systems, poses no threat to national security, according to a person familiar with a year-long study by the Pentagon. The report notes that rising prices and supply uncertainties are spurring private investment in new mining operations outside of China that will help meet American military needs, which require less than 5 percent of U.S. rare- earth consumption.
The Pentagon expects the supply situation to improve by 2013 once rare-earth mines outside of China, such as one planned by Australia’s Lynas Corp. Ltd., begin operations next year, said the person familiar with the findings.
China accounts for about 36 percent of global rare-earth reserves, the largest share, and the U.S. is second, with 13 percent, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The study recommends, among other steps, an examination of how the Defense Department could aid companies such as Molycorp, which has applied to the Energy Department for $280 million in U.S. government loan guarantees to help finance restarting its open-pit, rare-earths mine in Mountain Pass, California, in the Mojave Desert. The mine once met almost all the world’s demand for rare- earth metals. It shut down in 2002 due to competition from cheaper Chinese supplies. Molycorp plans to resume production by the end of 2012.
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