Federal leaders tour UND rare earths pilot plant
Last month, congressional and military leadership visited campus to tour a new facility bolstering national security and defense.
On May 26, North Dakota U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer and Michael Duffy, Undersecretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, toured UND’s rare earths pilot plant. The facility, housed in the College of Engineering & Mines, will work to extract rare earth elements from the state’s vast reserves of lignite coal.
Rare earth elements have a range of applications from consumer electronics and semiconductors to defense systems.
Cramer said that developing a domestic supply chain of rare earths is vital, given that China controls much of the global supply chain.
“What people may not know is the critical role North Dakota has the potential to play in becoming less dependent on China for rare earth elements,” Cramer said. “Thanks to North Dakota’s energy industry and the University of North Dakota, we may be unlocking a treasure trove of domestic rare earth element supplies so we can strategically decouple from China.”
