California Prospectors Hope Hurdles Removed for Small-Scale MinesCalifornia Prospectors Hope Hurdles Removed for Small-Scale Mines
Prospectors Sean Hart (L) and Ron Kliewer (R) of Sundown Resources work at a uranium mine in San Bernardino County, Calif., on Dec. 10, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
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California Prospectors Hope Hurdles Removed for Small-Scale Mines

Permitting delays and litigation lock up U.S.-based critical minerals and rare-earth elements as China corners the market, prospectors said.
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By Brad Jones
Updated:

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif.—With their four-wheel-drive trucks hugging the mountainside, prospectors Ron Kliewer and Sean Hart dodge tire-puncturing rocks jutting out of the narrow and steep road to their inactive uranium and rare-earth mineral mines in the Mojave Desert.

Aside from a large uranium deposit, their square mile of mining claims is rich in 14 other critical minerals, including many rare-earth elements. The uranium there was first discovered more than 70 years ago, during the uranium boom after World War II and the dawn of the nuclear age.

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