Scattered across the United States, hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines scar the earth, ... can be used in arid regions to produce detailed mineral maps of the Earth’s surface.

It reads, in part, “The United States was once the world’s largest producer of lucrative minerals, but overbearing Federal regulation has eroded our Nation’s mineral production.

US and Ukraine sign deal to create the Reconstruction Investment Fund — the long-awaited mineral deal that gives the US rights to Ukrainian rare earth.