We are at a crossroads; either we establish the mining, production and refining of rare earth elements here in the US or we remain subjected to the whims of the Chinese government.

The metal is expensive, not because it is rare but because of the expense to produce and work it. The minerals mined for titanium are all oxides, unlike many base metals that are mostly mined as sulfide minerals.

Critical minerals are products that the government has designated as critical to our national interest because of both their potential military and industrial applications.

Recently, a left-leaning Arizona federal judge, James Soto, who is an Obama appointee, shut down a proposed copper mining project for the flimsiest of reasons. He basically disregarded and rewrote federal mining law.

Polymetallic skarn deposits are an interesting class of deposits that can contain a number of different types of metals.