For the first time in 70 years, a new rare earths mine is opening in America following a July groundbreaking ceremony. Brook Mine in Wyoming is estimated to contain up to 1.7 million tons of rare earths and critical minerals including gallium, germanium, scandium, terbium, dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements composed of scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides on the periodic table. For context, the U.S. imported nearly all of the 10,000 metric tons of rare earths it used in 2023, per the U.S. Geological Survey. And out of 2 million tons of coal, we’ll get, ultimately, once it’s refined, about 1,200 tons of oxide,” Atkins told WPR.