Rare Earths In North Dakota -- Brand New Study Released By NDGS -- 2017

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The Minot Daily News is reporting: North Dakota Geological Survey has just published a report on rare earths, a two-year study.

• the study is the most comprehensive study of rare earths in coal ever done in western North Dakota and discovered that North Dakota lignites contain some of the highest concentrations of rare earth elements in the nation
• North Dakota samples rank in the top 20 of coal samples nationwide for concentrations of rare earths, with one sample being the fifth highest concentration recorded at 603 ppm, twice the U.S. Department of Energy’s potential economic threshold
• the US Department of the Interior state that the U.S. is 100 percent reliant on 20 minerals, and rare earth minerals are produced almost exclusively in China
• coal and organic-rich rock samples were collected from 64 sites in McKenzie, Billings, Golden Valley, Slope and Bowman counties and an additional site in Morton County,” said Survey Geologist Ned Kruger
• a total of 352 rock samples were analyzed for rare earths, of which 277 lignite samples averaging 120 parts per million total rare earth elements, twice the published average for U.S. coals.