CRISISBOOM

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The next commodities boom town.

Image: Google Maps

A tiny town in Nebraska might be where the US wakes up from it’s decade-long hiatus from mining rare earth elements.

The Washington Times reports that Vancouver-based Quantum Rare Earths Developments Corp. announced that they have found significant amounts of rare earth elements and niobium in Elk Creek, a rural town of 112 people. The company and the US Geological Survey estimate that Elk Creek is potentially the “largest global resources of Niobium & Rare-Earth Elements.”

Niobium is an element needed to make strong heat-resistant steel. Deposits of Niobium in Elk Creek surpassed Quantum’s estimates. The company found rich concentrations of “Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium and Dysprosium, associated with the Elk Creek Niobium Deposit” according to their website.

A Boom Town in Nebraska

Residents of the tiny town are Read more…