The Trump Administration celebrated the opening of the second rare earths mine in the country

The Trump Administration announced the opening of the second rare earths mine in the country. It will be located in Ranchester, in far northern Wyoming. It will be the first rare earths mining project in the United States in more than 70 years. The project is being undertaken by Ramaco Resources, Inc., a West Virginia company.

Among others at the launch event were Energy Secretary Chris Wright, former Senator Joe Manchin, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, and Wyoming's congressional delegation.

"America answers the call. We've become too dependent on just simply critical minerals from countries overseas, most of all China. We have these materials here in the United States. We made it hard to permit mines, we made it hard to have industry in our country, and guess what it left?" Wright expressed in dialogue with Fox News.

"Under President Trump's leadership, we're bringing it back to the United States, bringing it back right here in Wyoming. But we have two critical things together. Coal, the biggest source of electricity on the planet, and rare earth elements are critical to our national security and our economic security," he added.

Randall Atkins, CEO of Ramaco Resources, Inc., remarked on the strategic importance of rare earths to the United States in the race with China, currently the country supplying nearly 90% of the world's rare earths.

"The United States uses about 10,000 tons a year of rare earth. We've got 1.7 million. So just on the math, that's north of 150 years worth of supply just at this mine. So this mine will basically be America's answer to China. (...) We would intend to mine it here in Wyoming, process it here in Wyoming, and sell it to domestic customers, including the government," he told the same media outlet.