Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine, Rare earth mine in San Bernardino County, California.
Mountain Pass is a surface mining operation in San Bernardino County, California, extracting elements such as lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and europium from the rock. The facility processes the mined material on-site and prepares it for industrial use.
Mining began in 1952 three years after the deposit was discovered and supplied the largest share of global extraction until the late 1990s. Production was later halted and resumed only in the second decade of the 21st century.
The extraction of rare earth elements at Mountain Pass contributes to manufacturing electronics, renewable energy systems, and national defense technology.
The facility lies in the Mojave Desert about 53 miles southwest of Las Vegas on Bailey Road near Interstate 15. Tours are not available as the site is private and not open to the public.
This is the only active mine of its kind in the United States and currently supplies about one sixth of global demand for these elements. The extracted materials are used among other things for magnets in wind turbines and electric motors.
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