Does The US Have Rare Earth Minerals?

Yes. The U.S. has rare earth minerals, mines rare earth ore, and has sizeable reserves. The gap is not geology, it’s the midstream: separation, refining, and magnet supply chains still lean heavily on imports.

Quick Facts:

U.S. mine production (2024): ~45,000 metric tons of rare-earth-oxide (REO) equivalent in mineral concentrates, valued around $260M.
U.S. reserves: ~1.9 million metric tons (REO equivalent).
U.S. measured + indicated resources: USGS estimates ~3.6 million tons in the United States.
Net import reliance (compounds and metals): ~80% in 2024 (USGS estimate).
Top import source (2020-2023): China ~70% of U.S. rare-earth compounds and metals imports.

What “rare earth minerals” does the U.S. have?

Think “minerals that host rare earth elements,” not the elements themselves.

1) Bastnaesite (bastnäsite) - Mountain Pass, California

USGS: bastnaesite is mined as a primary product at Mountain Pass, CA, the key U.S. producing mine.
NASA also describes Mountain Pass as a carbonatite-hosted deposit where bastnaesite is a major REE source mineral.

2) Monazite - southeastern U.S. heavy mineral sands

USGS: monazite is stockpiled as a separated concentrate or occurs as an accessory mineral in heavy-mineral-sand concentrates in the southeastern United States.
USGS research also discusses heavy mineral sands in the Southeast, and published work supports monazite (and xenotime) occurrence across parts of the coastal plain.

3) Xenotime and other REE minerals - present in U.S. occurrences (not major producers today)

A USGS circular on U.S. REE deposits inventories multiple deposit types and minerals across the country (beyond Mountain Pass and monazite sands).

Where are U.S. rare earth deposits located?

If you care about “what the U.S. has,” these locations matter most:

California (Mountain Pass): the current anchor for U.S. mined rare earth concentrates.
Southeastern U.S. coastal plain: monazite-bearing heavy mineral sands are documented in USGS work.
Wyoming (Bear Lodge): a known REE carbonatite district; project materials describe REE minerals tied to bastnaesite-group fluorocarbonates and ancylite.
Alaska (Bokan Mountain / Dotson Ridge): long-studied REE mineralization; older public reports and later studies map and characterize the system.
Texas (Round Top Mountain): academic literature describes Y + heavy REE enrichment at Round Top Mountain.

If the U.S. has them, why does it still import so much?

Because rare earth supply is a chain, not a pit.

USGS data shows the U.S. produces a lot of mineral concentrate, and also exports large tonnages of ores/compounds, while still importing high-value compounds and metals.

A simplified view:

Mining + concentration (ore to concentrate)
Separation (mixed REEs to individual streams)
Refining (high-purity oxides/salts)
Metals + alloys
Magnets and components

The U.S. Department of Defense describes these steps directly (separation, processing, metallization, alloys).

One more wrinkle: USGS says “significant amounts” of rare earths arrive embedded inside finished goods as permanent magnets. That import dependency won’t disappear just by mining more rock.

What’s changing in the U.S. supply picture?

Two broad trends:

More focus on “mine-to-magnet”

Government and industry actions are aimed at building domestic capability across the chain (not just mining).

Non-traditional sources (early stage, mixed economics)

Projects are testing rare earth recovery from places like coal-related materials. Example: a new Wyoming coal mine tied to rare earth extraction plans has been covered by AP. Treat these as pilots until they show stable output and costs.

FAQ (the stuff people argue about)

Is the U.S. producing rare earths right now?
Yes. USGS reports domestic mining and processing in 2024, with about 45,000 tons REO equivalent in concentrates.

Does the U.S. have large reserves?
USGS lists U.S. reserves around 1.9 million tons (REO equivalent).

So is the U.S. “independent” on rare earths?
Not on compounds, metals, and downstream products. USGS estimates net import reliance at about 80% for compounds and metals in 2024, and China is the largest import source over recent years.