Earth

Rare earth mining may be key to our renewable energy future. But at what cost?

We take you inside Mountain Pass, the only rare earth mine in the United States.

An aerial view of Mountain Pass rare earth mine in southeastern California,

Mountain Pass (shown), in southeastern California, remains the United States’ only mine for rare earth elements, the building blocks of magnets used in smartphones, wind turbines and electric vehicles.

TMY350/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS (CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Carolyn Gramling

In spring 1949, three prospectors armed with Geiger counters set out to hunt for treasure in the arid mountains of southern Nevada and southeastern California.