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A project heralded by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy and accelerated by President Donald Trump stands to deal a huge blow to China’s dominance in the nanotechnology, energy and automotive sectors as the GraphiteOne project near Nome uncovered vast reserves — for which Beijing previously accounted for 90% of production.
As of 2024, the U.S. was at least 93% import-dependent on both rare earth elements (REEs) and graphite itself, according to the International Energy Agency, and the Graphite Creek deposit near Nome has already been dubbed the largest such tranche in the U.S.
But, this week’s announcement that REEs were discovered in addition to the graphite lode portends a step-up that the U.S. can take against the CCP through Trump’s “American energy dominance” agenda, according to a source familiar with the situation.
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Batteries, renewable energy technology, fiberoptics, lights, magnets and consumer electronics like phones and tablets rely on REEs, which often places the U.S. at a manufacturing disadvantage – accentuated by China’s 2024 export limits on magnet-related REEs, according to PRNewswire.
GraphiteOne President Anthony Huston said the Nome discovery is proof of a “truly generational deposit” at the Graphite Creek site. Some of the materials from the site will be shipped to an advanced graphite and battery anode material plant in Ohio.
Huston confirmed the presence of two Defense Production Act-qualifying materials and said that given the “robust economics of our planned complete graphite materials supply chain, the presence of Rare Earths at Graphite Creek suggests that recovery as a by-product to our graphite production will maximize the value.”
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REEs found include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, along with ore rock containing garnet deposits. The site’s chief geologist noted that garnets can absorb certain REEs into their mineral structure.
In his State of the State address earlier this year, Dunleavy praised the GraphiteOne project as the largest such in North America and encouraged it to continue moving forward with the support of both Juneau and Washington.
Huston said Dunleavy rightly understood the role of Alaska as a crucial American source of metals and minerals “transforming the 21st century” and making the U.S. less reliant on foreign sources, including “entities of concern.”
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Outside of Alaska, REEs have been discovered in Pennsylvania, with then-Rep. Lou Barletta, a Republican, trying to draw attention to them during his time in Congress in the 2010s.
Antracite coal deposits of Appalachian Pennsylvania have been found to contain as many as 17 different REEs, which could strike another blow to Chinese dominance.
Barletta told Fox News in 2018 that funding had been secured for a pilot program to look into extracting REEs from coal wastewater, as long-abandoned mines dot the landscape from Shamokin to Audenried, the latter falling in the aptly-named Carbon County.
While little has been done in Pennsylvania when it comes to extracting such minerals, compared to Alaskan efforts in the time since, researchers at Penn State said in September they had developed methods to recover cobalt, manganese and nickel from acid mine drainage and fly ash.
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