Rare Earth and Critical Minerals in Carbon Ore: What is the potential in New Mexico?

A new open-file report published by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, edited by Dr. Virginia McLemore and Amy Trivitt with a host of authors including researchers, faculty, and students from around the state, provides an extensive analysis of the critical mineral and rare earth element (REE) potential in coal from the San Juan and Raton basins, among other topics. This project is important to the state because nonfuel carbon-based products (CBP), critical minerals, and REE resources must be identified before government officials can make land-use decisions. Future mining of CBP, critical minerals, and REE will directly benefit New Mexico's economy. Students at New Mexico Tech (NMT) and San Juan College were hired and trained to contribute to this project and to the future workforce. The nearly 300-page report contains a wealth of geological and geochemical information and is available for free download.