With names like neodymium and dysprosium, rare-earth elements sound exotic — and their perceived scarcity has only added to the mystique. In reality, rare earths aren’t that rare, but just difficult to extract and refine. Yet they’ve become indispensable to…

Germany and China have long had deep economic ties, but those have frayed in recent times over issues ranging from claims of unfair trade practices to protectionism. One particularly thorny issue has been China’s moves to restrict exports of rare…

Graphite Creek deposit dubbed largest in US now contains defense-qualifying materials including neodymium. A project heralded by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and accelerated by President Donald Trump stands to deal a huge blow to China’s dominance in the nanotechnology, energy and automotive…

Southeast Alaska tribes and environmental groups have delivered nearly 30,000 messages to British Columbia lawmakers about transboundary mining. Earthjustice, the international conservation organization Re:wild and the tribal commission said the letters encourage British Columbia to pause mining developments in the…

Large motors are vital components in modern mining, driving essential operations from ore extraction to material handling and processing. These motors, which can range from hundreds of kilowatts to several megawatts, not only ensure operational efficiency but also present a…

The government will soon deploy low-flying aircraft to sweep Missouri and other Midwest states over the next year, scanning the ground for the presence of critical minerals. The U.S. Geological Survey announced Wednesday that the scans will map Missouri, Illinois,  Iowa…

Colombia will no longer approve new oil or large-scale mining projects in its Amazon biome, which covers 42% of the nation’s territory, according to a Nov. 13 statement by its environment ministry. Acting Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres said the entire Colombian…

Once a rarity, autonomous, autonomous-ready and tele-remote equipment now accounts for almost 5% of key mining equipment. The proportion of mining equipment that is autonomous, autonomous-ready and tele-remote is growing and now comprises nearly 5% of key mining equipment, a…