Is one of the US' jewels being burned for its rare metals?

75,000 acres have been burned and this is being kept secret

This is what is happening to Grand Teton with almost ZERO media coverage while all attention is on Hurricane Milton

This is what we are talking about. It was subject to my childhood fantasies

This, I guess, is local media

This is the Wyoming Truth (!) today - LOCAL media

Newsweek, however, has done an article

A massive wildfire continues to ravage Wyoming's Bighorn National Forest, growing to over 75,000 acres as of Wednesday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Initially sparked by lightning, the Elk Fire is threatening nearby communities, infrastructure and critical resources.

More than 829 firefighters and other personnel have been deployed to battle the blaze as containment efforts intensify. The fire is only 16 percent contained, leaving officials and residents on high alert as they prepare for potential evacuations.

Increased fire behavior was reported early Wednesday morning because of high winds and low humidity. At around 3 a.m. Mountain time, gusty winds intensified fire activity northwest of the Big Goose Water Treatment Plant, the U.S. Forest Service said in a post on Facebook. Firefighters working the night shift, including a dozer, a Hotshot crew and eight engines, quickly responded to the area.

https://www.newsweek.com/massive-wildfire-wyoming-expands-over-75000-acres-1966565

Largely, the only place this is being reported is on X

Wyoming faces a desperate situation as wildfires scorch 629,000 acres, mostly on private land, threatening both the landscape and livestock.

As the state battles three major wildfires, emergency orders have been issued to expedite the transportation of animals and their feed.

Amidst this crisis, Wyoming is also home to one of North America’s largest deposits of rare earth elements, which are crucial to modern technology, hinting at the potential for a multi-billion dollar mining industry in the state’s future.

https://x.com/ShadowofEzra/status/1844019217357500457?t=zfQg01fz43sGriNmPkNOAw&s=09

From Dr Sherri Tenpenny

Wyoming holds Largest (known so far) deposit of Rare minerals including Gallium and Germanium. Estimated worth $37 Billion

These two minerals are critical to many industries, including telecommunications, defense and high-tech.

The UK Daily Mail tells us

The US could soon surpass China as the world leader in rare earth minerals after more than 2.34 billion metric tons were discovered in Wyoming.

American Rare Earths Inc announced that the reserves near Wheatland dramatically surpass the Asian nation’s 44 million metric tons, saying it 'exceeded our wildest dreams’ after drilling only about 25 percent of the property.

The company has a stake in 367 mining claims across 6,320 acres of land in the Halleck Creek Project, along with four Wyoming mineral leases on 1,844 acres on the same project now called Cowboy State Mine.

The types of minerals at the site are used in smartphones, hybrid car motors and military technologies - among others.

As much as 95 percent of processed rare earth minerals come from China - and the US imports 74 percent of its supply from the nation.

However, China recently announced a ban on rare earth extraction in December 2023.

Don Swartz, CEO of American Rare Earths, stated following the nation’s announcement: ‘China is driven to maintain its market dominance.

‘This is now a race.’

Now, two months later, Swartz and his team are working to break China’s lock on the market.

American Rare Earths conducted the first drilling in March 2023, which determined there were 1.2 million metric ton estimates in northeastern Wyoming, the Cowboy State Daily reported.

But a second attempt in the fall uncovered 64 percent more.

American Rare Earths conducted the first drilling in March 2023, which determined there were 1.2 million metric ton estimates in northeastern Wyoming (map shows mining site)

These results are illustrative of the enormous potential of the project when the resource increased by 64 percent during a developmental drilling campaign, which increased measured/indicated resources by 128 percent,’ Shwartz said in a statement this week.

‘Typically, you’ll see the resource decrease as infill drilling takes place – instead, we’re seeing the opposite, with only 25 percent of the project being drilled to this point.

The rare earth minerals uncovered at the site included oxides of neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, dysprosium and terbium.

Magnets made from neodymium are used in hard disc drives and mobile phones, while praseodymium is used in high-strength alloys in aircraft engines.

Dysprosium is used to make control rods in nuclear reactors, and terbium is used in low-energy lightbulbs and mercury lamps.

The extraction process would use an open pit on the surface, which is the most common method used throughout the world for mineral mining.

The rare earth minerals uncovered at the site included oxides of neodymium, praseodymium, samarium, dysprosium and terbium

One example is the particularly massive Bingham Canyon mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, which is about three-quarters of a mile deep and about 2.5 miles wide.

While open-pit mining is an environmental hazard, it is still the fastest way to extract minerals - companies can pull as much as 20,000 tons a day.

The gaping hole in the ground is also safer for workers, compared to tunnels that go miles below the surface.

American Rare Earth is not the only company in the new gold rush' out west, as US-based Ramaco Resources has a stake near Sheridan, Wyoming that could be worth around $37 billion.

Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins told Cowboy State Daily: 'We only tested it for 100, 200 feet, which is about the maximum you’d ever want to do a conventional coal mine.

'Much deeper than that, and the cost would be prohibitive to mine for $15-a-ton coal. But there are seams that go down almost to 1,000 feet. So, we’re drilling down into the deeper levels to see what’s down there.' 

Ramaco estimated in May that it had 800,000 metric tons of rare earths, but then announced in December that amount was up to 1.2 million. 

Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium have also been found at the site - but the amount does not compare to what American Rare Earth has uncovered