Nevada Should Be Part of the Rare Earths Conversation

Commentary

Rare earth elements sound exotic, like something you’d find in a sci-fi movie or a Gwyneth Paltrow wellness kit. In reality, they’re 17 unglamorous metals that make modern life work.

Your smartphone? Rare earths. Electric vehicles? Rare earths. Wind turbines, missiles, and all the gadgets we pretend we don’t check during meetings? Also, rare earths.

So it’s no surprise they’re suddenly headline material. President Trump wants U.S. access to Greenland’s mineral stash.

A separate deal ties Ukraine’s critical minerals to aid during its war with Russia. Translation: whoever controls rare earths controls the future.

Right now, China is the heavyweight champ, producing about 69 percent of the world’s rare earths and sitting on enormous reserves. The U.S., meanwhile, is doing what it often does in these situations: looking around, checking couch cushions, and asking, “Didn’t we have some of this stuff?”

Yes. Yes, we did. And Nevada, of all places, is sitting quietly in the corner, raising its hand.

Southern Nevada has also confirmed deposits. No, we’re not actively mining them yet, but we’re already mining lithium, and those clay deposits, like at Thacker Pass and nearby projects, often come with rare earth potential baked right in.

Here’s the common-sense part: mining rare earths in Nevada wouldn’t just strengthen national supply chains. It would mean jobs, tax revenue, and millions flowing into state and county budgets.

We’re already a mining state. It isn’t a radical idea, it’s just Nevada doing what Nevada does, with slightly fancier rocks.

Rare earths may be rare, but the logic here isn’t.