Rare Earths Found at Alaska Mine Strengthen US Push to Cut China Reliance

Geologists at a planned graphite mine near Nome have uncovered at least four elements U.S. manufacturers must import from China.
Rare Earths Found at Alaska Mine Strengthen US Push to Cut China Reliance
A glass jar containing the rare earth metal Terbium (L) is pictured inside the storage room of Tradium, a company specialized in trading rare earths, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Nov. 4, 2025. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
John Haughey
John Haughey
Reporter
|Updated:
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At least four rare earth elements, including two that China has placed export restrictions on in global metals and minerals markets it dominates, have been discovered in commercially viable quantities at a planned Alaska mine sitting on the nation’s largest-known graphite deposit.

British Columbia-based Graphite One confirmed Nov. 13 that its geologists have found neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium at its Graphite Creek mine under development on the Seward Peninsula, less than 40 miles north of Nome.
John Haughey
John Haughey
Reporter
John Haughey is an award-winning Epoch Times reporter who covers U.S. elections, U.S. Congress, energy, defense, and infrastructure. Mr. Haughey has more than 45 years of media experience. You can reach John via email at [email protected]
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