Energy Secretary Chris Wright is heading to Wyoming on Friday to rally around a coal mine that backers say is poised to be a prominent producer of rare earth elements, materials that are at the center of the ongoing trade war with Beijing.
The secretary is slated to appear alongside Republican Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, and Rep. Harriet Hageman at Ramaco Resources’ Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project near Sheridan, Wyoming. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, will also appear, as will former Sen. Joe Manchin of coal-rich West Virginia, who joined Ramaco’s board of directors in April after spending years on the Hill lobbying for new revenue streams from coal.
The event showcases the Trump administration’s dual push to support an ailing coal sector while shoring up sources of rare earths that China currently controls. Beijing recently moved to restrict exports of rare earths and magnets, rattling supply chains and forcing some EV operations to go offline.
The Brook mine will be the first new coal mine in Wyoming in over 50 years and the first new rare earths facility in the U.S. in seven decades, according to DOE and project developers.
