Wyoming's first new coal mine in decades to extract rare earths
The developer of what would be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in decades is launching a potentially half-billion-dollar effort to extract rare earth metals from the fossil fuel that are crucial for tech products and military hardware. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Wyoming's congressional delegation took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for Ramaco Resources, Inc.'s Brook Mine outside Ranchester in northeastern Wyoming. “Not only do we get coal here, we are going to get those rare earth elements that are going to break our dependence on China,” Wright told Fox News from the mine site Friday.