round top mountain rare earth

Texas Mineral Resources Corp.’s (TMRC's) flagship Round Top project is located in Hudspeth County, Texas, approximately 85 miles southeast of El Paso. And a lot of the exploration work has already been done. The Texas-based mining company seeks to mine yttrium and dysprosium while also extracting uranium, beryllium and thorium. Due to the breezes in the higher parts of the mountain the actual temperature can vary considerably in the area. Take in 360-degree views of Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and the Olympics from the restored, historic fire lookout at the top of this hike and you’ll agree: It was tough—and it was worth it. [4] The area lies between the northern Quitman Mountains and Devils Ridge. Here, Texas Mineral Resources Corporation (TMRC) has proposed an open-pit, rare earth elements (REEs) mine. The Round Top Deposit hosts 16 of the 17 rare earth elements, plus other high-value tech minerals (including lithium) and is well located to serve the US internal demand. Round Top contains 16 of 17 rare earths – all 11 heavy rare earths and five light rare earths – and importantly all five rare earth elements required for making permanent magnets. Round Top contains all of the rare earth minerals necessary for the production of rare earth magnets as defined by the recently signed FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) • Section 871 of the NDAA, signed into law on August 13th 2018, specifically requires that all rare earth magnets and Capital Cost for the project is $350.4 Million, including a complete on-site rare earth oxide and mineral separation plant, and includes a 25% contingency provision of $65.7 Million. The Round Top Project is a joint venture of USA Rare Earth and Texas Mineral Resources Corporation (TMRC; formerly Texas Rare Earth Resources). A rare earth processing pilot plant could cost between $5 million and $20 million, depending on location, size and other factors, with a full-scale … But few uses existed then for the rare earth elements found in the mountain. Round Top rare earths project is located outside El Paso, Texas. Its peak is 1,000 feet (300 m) above the desert plateau and approximately 4,270 to 4,600 feet (1,300 to 1,400 m) above sea level. TMRC and its funding and development partner USA Rare Earth, LLC announced completion of an expanded and updated NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Round Top Project on August 20, 2019.[19]. [8] Round Top Mountain is a surface-exposed rhyolite intrusion that was created from molten liquid rock pushing up from beneath the earth's surface. The area includes the Finlay Mountains, Triple Hill, and Sierra Blanca quadrangles as well as parts of the Fort Quitman and McNary quadrangles. [10][11] The area contains scrub brush and grasses that are supported by the mountain's sandy loams and clay. [11], The heavy rare-earth elements are hosted in yttrofluorite which is soluble in dilute sulfuric acid, making heap leach extraction feasible. A rich source of what are called rare earth minerals has been discovered there inside Round Top Mountain. Photo: USA Rare Earth Other obstacles include the economics of separating and refining rare earths, which tend to … With an average grade greater than 8%, Mountain Pass is considered to be one of the highest quality rare earth deposits in the world. by SWAGGER Staff; Posted on November 13, 2020 November 19, 2020; Pini Althaus, the founding CEO and director of USA Rare Earth LLC, is one of the world’s leading mining entrepreneurs and he’s currently taking a pioneering role in the mining and processing of some of the world’s most crucial resources. Round Top Mountain is one of five peaks made from laccoliths in the area, with the others being Little Round Top, Little Blanca, Triple Hill, and Sierra Blanca. [5] The rare-earth elements contained in the mountain are used to build energy and defense applications as well as electronic devices, lasers, in oil and gas drilling, water treatment, and other uses. However, the water is too brackish and mineral-laden to be potable. [4] The Sierra Blanca area is approximately 950 square miles (2,500 km2). While the monetary value of these minerals is low compared to, e.g., the value of steel produced in the United States (at some $127 b… A new rare earth mining effort is proposed in West Texas’ Round Top Mountain with a processing facility in Colorado. [9], Round Top Mountain is more than a mile in diameter at its base (approximately 1,609 meters). [13] Throughout the 1980s, several companies held interest in the mountain, including the Cabot Corporation and the Cypus Metals Company. [18] The even grade of heavy rare-earth mineralization throughout the deposit leads to a consistent, unchanging quality of raw material for the heap leach.[14]. [15] Round Top hosts 16 of the 17 rare earths, as well as industrial minerals including lithium, beryllium, and uranium. b Department of Earth and Space Science, University of Washington, USA ... analysis suggest that departures from the pattern of ridge-top enhancement are rare; the basic patterns and processes appear robust to changes in temperature, winds, and background rainfall rates. [12] A 1988 feasibility study found the mountain to contain approximately 298,000 tons of ore with a prediction of yielding 11,000,000 lbs of beryllium. .. [11] The heavy rare-earth mineralization at Round Top is unique, with these elements hosted in yttrofluorite, a variety of the mineral fluorite. It also contains large deposits of lithium, which is critical for batteries. Currently, TMRC is focused on the exploration and development of rare earth elements, technology metals and industrial minerals at Round Top. Texas Mineral Resources Corp.’s (TMRC's) flagship Round Top project is located in Hudspeth County, Texas, approximately 85 miles southeast of El Paso. The PEA reports a Net Present Value (NPV) for the project of $1.56 Billion (at a 10% discount rate, pre-tax), an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 70%, and a Payback Period of 1.4 years. [14] No similar deposit has been described elsewhere.[14]. Ground water near Round Top Mountain is available through natural underground reservoirs. Texas Mineral Resources holds 19-year renewable leases from the state of Texas on 950 acres encompassing the Round Top project and additional prospecting permits on adjacent areas covering an additional 9,345 acres. The Mountain Pass rare earth mine located in San Bernardino County, California is the only operating rare-earth element (REE) mine in the US. TMRC holds 19-year renewable leases from the State of Texas on 950 acres encompassing Round Top and additional prospecting permits on adjacent areas covering an additional 9,345 acres. The project was originally for the exploration and development of beryllium and uranium, both of which are found in the mountain. [3] Holes were drilled along with prospective trenches in Round Top Mountain, Little Blanca Mountain, and Little Round Top Mountain between 1971 and 1980. [11] The deposit in the mountain includes five light and 10 heavy rare-earth elements. It also contains quantities of Del Rio Clay and Finlay limestone[3] as well as deposits of uranium and lithium. TMRC hopes to mine yttrium and dysprosium, two REEs, as well as uranium, beryllium and thorium. In July 2016 TMRC announced it had successfully completed a demonstration-of-concept project using Round Top ore as feedstock to separate and refine specific high-purity rare earth elements for the DLA Strategic Materials Division in conjunction with its joint venture partner K-Technologies, Inc. (K-Tech). Currently, TMRC is focused on the exploration and … A lesson to be learned from the US-China trade war … Round Top Mountain is a mountain located at the western end of the Sierra Blanca area in Hudspeth County, Texas near the town of Sierra Blanca. A 1990 study by the Texas Bureau of Geology estimated the rare-earth deposits in the mountain to be 1.6 billion metric tonnes. In excess of 60% of materials at Round Top will be used directly in green or renewable energy technologies. [12] The 1980s led to the discovery of deposits of beryllium that are concentrated on the northwest corner of Round Top Mountain. [15] The United States was the leading producer of rare-earth elements until the 1990s when lower production costs in China caused other mines to close down. Learn more about Texas Mineral Resources by signing up for our Company Press Releases and Updates. Right now, about 97 percent of rare earth … This rare earth deposit is an exciting resource opening the possibility of rare earth independence and mining with better regulations from its inception. [15], The Round Top Project began in the 1980s with the drilling of several locations in the mountain for fluoride and later beryllium. [16] Texas Rare Earth Resources picked up the project in 2011 with the re-logging and re-analyzing of the previous 82,000 feet (approximately 24,993 meters) of drilling. According to the Mineral Commodity Summaries for 2019 published by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the USGS, the United States imported rare-earth compounds and metals with a value of only $160 million in 2018, which was an increase of around 16 percent over 2017 imports. [5], Round Top Mountain is located in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, northeast from the Mexican border. Pini Althaus, the chief executive of USA Rare Earths, said that the company had had promising results processing ores in small amounts through a pilot program, and that he hoped to … [18] The natural porosity and permeability of the rhyolite provide the micro-conduits that allow the acid to penetrate to the interior of the large crush size (one inch, or 2.5 cm) for the heap leach. The Round Top Mountain mine would operate on 950 acres of TMRC controlled lands. has proposed an open-pit, rare earth metals mine on Round Top Mountain in the Sierra Blanca Mountain Range of western Texas. A rare earth processing pilot plant could cost between $5 million and $20 million, depending on location, size and other factors, with a full-scale … China began restricting exports of rare-earth elements in 2006, causing a substantial rise in the cost of the elements. We believe that the Round Top project has the following competitive advantages: Click on the following video to view our Round Top Mountain Project’s location in flyover 3D imagery: Created with Google by AATA International Inc. It is the world's largest known REE deposit. [5] Round Top Mountain is a low impact for earthquakes with approximately one occurrence every 50 years. [8], The closest town to Round Top Mountain is Sierra Blanca, Texas, located 8 miles (13 km) southeast of the mountain with a population of approximately 553 people. About USA Rare Earth, LLC USA Rare Earth, LLC has an option to earn and acquire an 80% interest in, and is the operator of, the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and … The area includes the Finlay Mountains, Triple Hill, and Sierra Blanca quadrangles as well as parts of the Fort Quitman and McNary quadrangles. [7] It is accessible by Interstate 10 and approximately 85 miles (137 km) east of El Paso, Texas. Texas Mineral Resources is an exploration stage mining company with its flagship property, Round Top Mountain, near Sierra Blanca in Hudspeth County, Texas. [12], Round Top is known for containing rare-earth elements, including the largest deposit of heavy rare-earth elements in the United States, estimated at over 1 billion tons. After an e… [20], Aerial view of Round Top Mountain in Texas, "Feature Detail Report for Round Top Mountain", "A Visit To The Texas Rare Earth Resources Round Top Project", "Rare earth element geochemistry of the Sierra Blanca loccoliths, Texas", "Welcome to Sierra Blanca Texas - The Black Hole of Tour Bus Drug Busts", "$8 billion worth of rare-earth minerals in Sierra Blanca area mountain, company says", "The Ellis Martin Report with Marc LeVier", "The great global hunt for rare Earth metals comes to Texas", "Every Good Geologist Knows Grade is King", "TRER Details New Plan for Round Top Mine", http://www.tmrcorp.com/_resources/reports/TMRC-NI43-101-PEA-2019-16-August-2019.pdf, Texas Rare Earth Resources Round Top Project page, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Round_Top_Mountain&oldid=999814271, Pages using infobox mountain with deprecated parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 January 2021, at 02:43. The mountain contains five out of six light rare earths (such as neodymium), 10 out of 11 heavy rare earths (dysprosium, for example), and all five … Animated image of Round Top Mountain (click on SDSR, Round Top, Mine for an interactive image): We continue to operate our Sierra Blanca, Texas office at: 539 El Paso St. Sierra Blanca, Texas, United States of America79851, ©2021 Texas Mineral Resources Corp. All Rights Reserved. In May of this year, China threatened to cut off rare earth exports to the United States as part of its trade war tactics against the Trump administration. Image from USA Rare Earth. The developers of the Round Top Mountain rare earth element mine in Texas are building a pilot plant to process the mine’s ore in the United States, according to a press release. [17] The project cost is approximately $290 million with an estimated $8 billion in projected revenue over 20 years of mining. Round Top Mountain offers a 130-year supply of the critical minerals, according to USA Rare Earth. “It’s not just about supply,” said said Pini Althaus, CEO of USA Rare Earth. TMRC holds 19-year renewable leases from the State of Texas on 950 acres encompassing Round Top and additional prospecting permits on adjacent areas covering an additional 9,345 acres. The Texas Bureau of Economic Geology first recognized the unique geology of Round Top Mountain some 25 years ago. Round Top is thought to offer a 130-year supply of critical minerals. TMRC and USA Rare Earth announced the launch of a rare earth and critical minerals pilot processing facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado in December 2019. The 46 year-old, born in Melbourne, … [5] Temperatures during the summer months reach 100 °F during the day with cooler temperatures at night. Expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2020, the Colorado-based pilot facility will utilise continuous ion exchange/continuous ion chromatography (CIX/CIC) processing technology to demonstrate the production of fully separated REEs, lithium, as well as other technology metals and industrial minerals from the polymetallic ore of the Roun… Meet USA Rare Earth CEO Pini Althaus. Reserves are estimated at more than 40 … The Round Top Mountain, hosts a large range of critical Rare Earth Elements including Lithium, High-Tech metals, Uranium and Beryllium – elements required by the United States; both for national defense and industry. The area includes the Finlay Mountains, Triple Hill, and Sierra Blanca quadrangles as well as parts of the Fort Quitman and McNary quadrangles. The Round Top located in Texas hosts a large range of critical heavy rare earth elements, high-tech metals, including lithium, uranium and beryllium and industrial materials, … In the bench scale demonstration, Texas Mineral Resources Corp. and K-Tech successfully separated specified high-value rare earths to between 99.996 and 99.999% purity, using static column systems designed to provide the general design concepts for ultimate use of continuous ion exchange (CIX) and continuous ion chromatography (CIC) systems at larger scales. Texas Mineral Resources is an exploration-stage mineral company. [3], The Sierra Blanca area is on the northern margin of the Chihuahua Tectonic Belt and is a massive complex of volcanic rocks including pyroclastic materials, lava flows, and intrusions. USA Rare Earth, LLC has an option to earn and acquire an 80% interest in, and is the operator of, the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Project located in … The Round Top Mountain mine in Texas. In western Texas an ordinary mountain called Round Top has been found to contain five out of six light rare earth minerals, 10 out of 11 rare earth minerals and all five permanent magnet materials. [17] The rainfall in the area comes primarily from thunderstorms during the months of July and August, with the months of January through April being mostly dry. [6][7] The region is the most mountainous area of Texas, and lies to the southeast of the Sierra Blanca mountain range. [15] China's monopoly on these elements led to the exploration for rare-earth elements in the United States, including opening of previously closed mines. This Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA is a surface-exposed rhyolite intrusion enriched in Y and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), as well as Nb, Ta, Be, Li, F, Sn, Rb, Th, and U. |, Ease of Access to Infrastructure (Electricity, Highway, Natural Gas, Rail, Water), Friendly Resource Development Jurisdiction, Located Entirely on State Land (No BLM, No Forest Service), Extensive Management Experience (Project Development, Hydro-Metallurgy, Mine Production/Operation), Large, Porphyry-Style REE Deposit (Massive Tonnage/Economies of Scale, Rich in CREE/HREE), Favorable Mineralization (Yttrofluorite & Yttrocerite, Evenly Disseminated, Minimal Stripping Required). In addition to the rare earths and scandium, the Round Top project contains 11 of the 35 non-rare earth minerals deemed "critical to U.S. national security and the economy" by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Round Top Mountain is a mountain located at the western end of the Sierra Blanca area in Hudspeth County, Texas near the town of Sierra Blanca. Its flagship project is the Round Top Mountain, located near Sierra Blanca in Hudspeth County, Texas — about 450 miles from the old Barringer Hill. [5] The top layer of sedimentary rock that makes up the mountain has been eroded over time, exposing the rhyolite formation. [3][4] Round Top Mountain is known for containing deposits of beryllium as well as the largest deposit of heavy rare-earth elements in the United States. Drive about 85 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas and you will find yourself at Round Top Mountain in the Sierra Blanca Mountain Range. While the site is owned by the Texas General Land Office, it was leased to Texas Rare Earth Resources beginning in May 2011 for the exploration and development of the site's rare-earth elements. 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