Felicity Bradstock
Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK.
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By Felicity Bradstock – Dec 02, 2023, 2:00 PM CST
- Rare earth mineral deposits found in coal mines have sparked optimism that the mines could become a central part of the clean energy supply chain.
- The U.S. and other countries may be able to use coal mines to reduce their reliance on China for its rare earth minerals.
- While promising, the environmental impact of extracting rare earths from coal mines requires careful assessment for sustainable development.
Just when we thought it was the end of the coal era, the discovery of rare earth mineral deposits could mean that coal mines still have a role to play in the future of the energy sector. There have been proposals for the transformation of coal mines into geothermal facilities and other renewable energy sites, but this discovery could give coal mines a new lease of life for the more conventional purpose of mining.
There has been a significant global push to move away from coal mining in favor of less dirty fossil fuels and renewable alternatives. Once considered the driver of the industrial revolution, coal is now viewed by many as an unnecessary evil. Simultaneously, the demand for metals and minerals associated with renewable energy production and clean technologies is increasing, making mining for other elements critical. There are seventeen metallic elements, known as rare earth elements (REE), many of which are essential for the manufacturing of everyday technological devices and green energy components, such as batteries and semiconductors. In 1993, 38 percent of the global production of REEs was in China, 33 percent was in the United States, 12 percent in Australia, and 5 percent was in Malaysia and India.
This year in May, the U.S. firm Ramaco Resources, researchers from mining consultancy Weir International, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) published a paper including a technical assessment of REE. In the report it revealed that these minerals were present at a coal mine in Wyoming, suggesting they may be present in other coal sites. Ramaco stated, “Following eighteen months of extensive core drilling and independent chemical analysis, NETL researchers and Ramaco now believe that the Brook Mine property contains perhaps the largest unconventional deposit of REEs discovered in the United States.”
The discovery came about when Ramaco decided it was no longer worth developing the site as a thermal coal mine due to global changes in the perception of coal since it purchased the location around a decade ago. The company was questioning how it may develop the site using an alternative approach,