A former Wall Street banker who shelled out $2 million for a former coal mine in rural Wyoming may have found a $37 billion mother lode after the discovery of “rare earth elements” at the site, according to a report.
Randall Atkins, son of infamous oil tycoon Orin Atkins, bought the quiet Brook Mine outside Sheridan, Wyoming, sight unseen, 12 years ago.
However, recent testing by government researchers revealed that the 15,800-acre mineral reserve contains what could be the largest unconventional rare earth deposit in the country. according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rare earth minerals such as gallium and germanium are vital in the production of superconductors and are also needed to power electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.
When Atkins’ company, Ramaco Resources, first purchased the mine, the 71-year-old “didn’t know the difference between rare earths and rare coins,” he told the outlet.
Now, it is working with government researchers to extract larger samples from the Brook Mine for further analysis, drilling 700 feet into the ground to produce samples, deeper than has ever been drilled.
“Like any project of this magnitude, it will take some time to evaluate its full potential,” Atkins, a former JPMorgan banker, told The Post.
“Since rare earth deposits are measured in parts per million, careful analysis of the correct extraction, separation and processing techniques will also be necessary before we can be sure of the right direction.”
If Atkins were to encounter land, the site would be the first rare earth mine discovered in the U.S. since 1952, according to The Journal.
It would also give the country a boost in its battle with China over rare earth materials.
On August 1, the communist regime limited the export of gallium and germanium in its quest for influence in the cutting-edge semiconductor space.
Atkins’ father built the multibillion-dollar energy giant Ashland Oil before becoming ensnared in a series of high-profile scandals, including Watergate, in his later years.
Orin Atkins was fined for an illegal payment to President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972, according to The Journal.
He later pleaded guilty to directing his associates to sell confidential Ashland documents to Iran and was sentenced to probation and community service.
He died in 2007.
The younger Atkins told The Journal that he was “deeply saddened by the whole situation he went through” and that he had learned from his father’s mistakes.
