Round Top Rare Earth Mining Project Developer: Mineral Resources Corporation Location: Hudspeth County, Texas Prepared January 2018

Background Texas Mineral Resources Corporation (TMRC) 21.4% of the county living below the poverty line, has proposed an open-pit, rare earth metals mine on which is 6% higher than the national average (TXCIP, Round Top Mountain in the Sierra Blanca Mountain 2016). Range of western Texas. The Texas-based mining Until recently, agriculture, ranching and company seeks to mine yttrium and dysprosium extractive industry supported the economy of while also extracting uranium, beryllium and Hudspeth County. Mining began in the area in the thorium. The Round Top Mountain mine would 1940s with the discovery of zinc. Since then coal, operate on 950 acres of TMRC controlled lands. This silver, and copper have been extracted as well project has the opportunity for significant expansion (Kohout). Due to decline in the local agriculture and due to the additional 9,345 acres of land surrounding mining economies in recent years, there is a common the mine area that TMRC owns in prospecting desire for an industry that could help support the permits. According to the company, the mine will region. boost the local economy due to the supposedly constant supply of minerals and rare earths that will Policy Context come from the mine for over 60 years. TMRC claims The Round Top Mountain Project is operating that the mine will create up to 150 new jobs in the within a complex and unique policy context. Perhaps area (Hatch, 2014). Moreover, the company will be the most notable aspect of the proposed mine is that required to pay a 6.25% royalty to the state of Texas the lands are owned by the state’s General Land which will be used mainly to fund Texas’ educational Office (GLO), not federally operated institutions system (TMRC). such as the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service as is often the case with proposed mines. Because the lands are owned by the state, the Round Top Mountain Project will not trigger the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is a federal requirement. Texas is known for some of the most extraction-friendly regulations in the country and the GLO has little oversight from other regulatory agencies (Presentation, 2015) . This means that any required permits for exploration at the Round Top Mountain Project are almost guaranteed 1 Hudspeth County, Texas to be approved in a fairly quick and easy fashion. The Round Top Project would be located in Both political and popular opinions in Texas Hudspeth County, which is about 85 miles from El seem to be in favor of the TMRC mine, but this does Paso. Sierra Blanca is the town located nearest the not mean that there are no environmental regulations project and is located about 15 miles to the south. As and considerations to be considered. TMRC has of 2016, an estimated 4,053 people lived in Hudspeth budgeted $2 million for environmental work during County of which 77.6% of the population identified the feasibility stage of the project, this is a significant as Hispanic or Latino and the median household amount of money for this type of project. Much of income was $35,252. The county is quite poor with this money will be used for the 12 permits that TMRC still needs to acquire from a variety of state sulfuric acid solution from the heap leaching process and federal environmental agencies. Additionally, may leak into surrounding groundwater and despite the lands being owned by the state, NEPA contaminate water supplies in the county. Finally, may be triggered because drainage from the mine’s some worry that the mine will destroy the mountains leaching facility may be considered a ‘jurisdiction’ that the county is known for, and that the jobs created drainage owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers by the mine will not actually be given to local (Hulse, 2013). Finally, the Round Top Mountain residents (Herald, 2014). mine would employ the controversial processing Sierra Blanca residents have been concerned method called ‘heap leaching’ in which crushed ores about environmental justice issues for two decades. are saturated with sulfuric acid to separate out the The Latinx community in the area has expressed heavy rare earths. This method is known to produce frustration with the large amount of hazardous severe contamination of surrounding environments. materials, such as nuclear waste and human waste Development of the TMRC mine requires from all over the country, that are commonly consideration of market trends and patterns along deposited near the community and putting them at with environmental regulations. Until November of risk. The TMRC mine seems only to be a 2017, there was little to no advancement in the continuation of this trend (Lyman, 1998). development of the mine because of low market prices for the sought after metals. November 2017 marked an important milestone for the project because TMRC announced a $6 million “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) between the company and a group of industry investors for the mine. This MOU created a new “Round Top Minerals Ltd.” in which TMRC owns 51% of while the group of industry investors owns the other 49%. Round Top Mountain2 This finances a complete feasibility study (TMRC, 2017). Despite unfavorable markets, TMRC and Conclusion others are continuing on with the project with the The Round Top Mountain Mine proposed by hope the markets will soon create a more profitable Texas Mineral Resource Corporation has the general development. support of the local community and the state. The project also has a comparatively lenient Public Response environmental review process that will likely operate Although the response to the proposed mine has in their favor. Despite this, TMRC and its project still been generally favorable, some members of the operate on the whims of the global market, which has public have still expressed concerns about the mine. been the largest obstacle to the advancement of the In particular, surrounding communities such as mine. This puts the viability of the entire project into Sierra Blanca are apprehensive about potential health question. With the Memorandum of Understanding risks from radioactive substances such as uranium, that was announced in November of 2017, the Round thorium and beryllium. Other concerns include Top Mountain Project could see rapid development excessive dust exposure as a result of the mine which in the near future. Again, however, the mine could can cause detrimental health effects like cancer and still find itself in unfavorable markets for several berylliosis. Moreover, others are anxious that the years to come.

Works Cited

Crowder, David. “Rare Earth Rush is On: Strategic Metals Mine Possible in Hudspeth County.” El Paso Inc. 12 March 2012. http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/top_story/rare-earth-rush- is-on/article_e6615e24-6c5e-11e1-b1e8-001a4bcf6878.html

Hatch, Gareth. “A Visit to the Texas Rare Earth Resources Round Top Project.” Technology Metals Research. 19 May 2014. http://www.techmetalsresearch.com/a-visit-to-the-texas- rare-earth-resources-round-top-project/

“Hudspeth County Profile.” Texas Association of Counties. http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48229

Hulse, Donald et al. “Preliminary Economic Assessment, Round Top Project, Sierra Blanca, Texas.” Gustavson Associates. 20 Dec 2013. http://tmrcorp.com/_resources/pdf/TRER_NI43-101_PEA_FINAL_10Jan2014.pdf

“Investor Presentation.” Texas Mineral Earth Resources Corporation. December 2015. http://tmrcorp.com/_resources/presentations/corporate_presentation_20151207.pdf

Kohout, Martin. “Hudspeth County.” Texas State Historical Association .https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hch21

Lifton, Jack. “TRET in the running to compete with Chinese Ionic Clay Sources of Heavy Rare Earths.” InvestorIntel. 12 March 2015. https://investorintel.com/sectors/technology- metals/technology-metals-intel/texas-rare-earth-resources-in-the-running-to-compete- with-chinese-ionic-clay-sources-of-heavy-rare-earths/

Lyman, Rick. “For Some, Texas Town is Too Popular as Waste Disposal Site” New York Times. 2 Sept. 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/02/us/for-some-texas-town-is-too- popular-as-waste-disposal-site.html

“Mining Executive Discusses Round Top Mining Project.” Hudspeth County Herald. http://hudspethcountyherald.com/mining-executive-discusses-round-top-mining-project/

“Public Airs Concern About Round Top Mine.” Hudspeth County Herald. 31 January 2014. http://hudspethcountyherald.com/public-airs-concerns-about-round-top-mine/

“Rare Earths - Round Top.” Texas Mineral Resources Corporation. Web. Accessed 2 February 2018. http://tmrcorp.com/projects/rare_earths/

Soloman, Dan. “Does a Sierra Blanca Mountain Contain $8 billion Worth of Rare Earth Minerals?” Texas Monthly. 27 January 2014. https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily- post/does-a-sierra-blanca-mountain-contain-8-billion-worth-of-rare-earth-minerals/

“Texas Mineral Resources Signs $6 Million Financing Memorandum of Understanding for the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth Project in Texas” Texas Mineral Resource Corporation. 17 Nov, 2017. http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/texas-mineral-resources-signs-6- million-financing-memorandum-understanding-round-top-otcqx-tmrc-2241149.html

USA, Texas. Texas Association of Counties. Hudspeth County Profile. 2017. http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48229

Photo Sources: 1 http://tmrcorp.com/projects/rare_earths/ 2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Top_Mountain