WorldWide Drilling Resource

56 OCTOBER 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Rare Earth Minerals by Harry W. Short, Engineering Geologist Rare earth minerals (REMs) are industrial metals commonly mined by products of precious metals and base metals. Compared to base metals, they have more specialized uses and are often more difficult to extract. Some 49 elements in the periodic table are rare earth strategic metals which include cerium, manganese, titanium, and tungsten. Strategic metals are used in myriad technologies such as jet engines, hybrid cars, steel alloys, wind turbines, flat-screen televisions, and cellular phones. There are 17 REMs which are essentially strategic in many of today’s most advanced technologies in electronics. Scandium and yttrium are considered REMs because they occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties. REMs, with the exception of the radioactive promethium, are relatively plentiful in earth's crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element at 60 parts per million. However, because of their geochemical properties, REMs are typically dispersed and not often found concentrated. The first such mineral discovered was gadolinite, a compound of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon, and other elements. Many of these minerals were found near a mine in the little village of Ytterby, Sweden. REMs are used in magnets, laser technology, radiation filtering, nuclear reactors, fuel cells, televisions, and sonar systems. They play a major role in devices designed for national security in the United States. I suspect REMs play a similar role for countries which are not great friends of America. China has a corner mining REMs over other countries, likely because their labor force is cheap. There aren’t many REM mines in the U.S., and hopefully this trend will change in our time with other responsible countries. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has determined the United States is sitting on a sizable untapped reserve of them in the western part of the country. New extraction techniques will allow companies to access REMs from old mine tailings. Currently, Molycorp Company operates the only site in the U.S. that produces REMs, which is located in California. The USGS also recognizes Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Colorado as some of the locations of economical rare earth deposits. Mining REMs looks like a prosperous future in store for the United States. Harry Harry Short may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com Ronnie’s Real World Seems everyone likes a laugh now and again. Right? Well how about a “rolling WWDR office”? Well this is no laughing matter because that is exactly what is going on with YOUR WWDR Team. We know how everyone is running around trying to get everything done and really doesn’t have a great deal of time to sit down at their computers or telephones and call to advertise their goods and services. So, we decided to make a special effort to get to visit YOU personally. We want to get to know you and exactly what you expect your advertising dollars to do for you; what your goals are; what you like to see; exactly what your likes and dislikes are. So, when you see this rig pull up outside your business or on the jobsite, chuckle a little and say, “They really meant it!” Because it will be us with that familar positive attitude smile, historic camera, and red jackets ! Now on another note, this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month , and we want to send our bless- ings to all those who have this dreaded disease, know someone who has it, or have lost someone because of it. We too have family, friends, and acquaintances who are and have undergone this struggle and we genuinely care. And that truly is... Ronnie’s Real World! God Bless You - we will see you on the trail... LLLLLLL