The development of a domestic source of rare earth elements is critical for national security, according to Sen. Joe Manchin.
"I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to continue to use our nation's abundant coal resources to strengthen our national security, introduce competition into the supply chain and ensure that American entrepreneurs have reliable access to these materials," Manchin, D-W.Va., said Dec. 5 at a U.S. Senate hearing at the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources's Subcommittee on Energy to hear testimony on Manchin's bill to support the research into developing rare earth sources, among other energy-related bills.
"It would behoove our country to take a position that we are going to produce so much domestically knowing that we can. Just for the defense of our own nation, for the security of our own nation," he continued.
Manchin's bill, the Rare Earth Element Advanced Coal Technologies Act, would authorize an annual $20 million appropriation to the National Energy Technology Laboratory to continue to work on rare earth elements extraction technology. These elements are used in technologies such as electronic vehicles, smartphones, critical defense technology and wind turbines.
"Rare earth elements are an essential component for products that us Americans use every day," Manchin said.
Mark Menezes, undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, said at the hearing that the office of rare elements at the DOE had conducted tests on more than 1,000 rock samples from 14 states so far.
He said that at one point, a mine in eastern California produced these elements, but now the great majority of the elements are produced in China.
"The United States does not have a domestic source of these critical minerals and instead imports nearly all of its rare earth elements from China," Manchin said, adding that the DOE's research will allow the U.S. to re-establish domestic production of rare earth elements.
A recent press release said the National Energy Technology Laboratory found high rare earth element concentrations in coal samples taken from the Illinois Basin, Northern Appalachia, Central Appalachia and the Rocky Mountain Basin, with quantities greater than 300 parts per million — a threshold Manchin said was high enough to make the development of technologies to separate the minerals from coal and coal byproducts feasible.
Manchin said coal ponds, slurry dumps and other coal waste are good sources of rare earth elements and the coal washing process could provide an easy source for the elements as well.
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in April that the future of coal includes the use of its byproducts like rare earth elements. His department announced $17.4 million in investments in rare earth element extraction research in August.
