I remember when I got to attend a press conference and chat with Elon Musk in Butte, Montana back in 2013. This was the line that stood out to me after he was asked about rare earth elements and developing those resources here in America instead of China.
It was certainly great news for our friends in White Sulphur Springs and for the people of Montana when the court ruled on behalf of the Black Butte Copper Mine and the State of Montana. We caught up with former Meagher County Commissioner Nancy Schlepp, who grew up on the family ranch in nearby Ringling.
It's time to ramp up rare earth mining in America, especially if you want electric vehicles or so-called green energy. That's what Dr. Courtney Young, a professor of metallurgical and materials engineering at Montana Tech in Butte, argued in a recent guest opinion column.
As Evelyn Pyburn reports in the Big Sky Business Journal Hot Sheet, there's apparently a big opportunity for a rare earth mine in Western Montana being talked about right now.
Montana has every right to be proud of the sapphires that can be found here. Why are these sapphires so special and are they actually rare? Yes, and we learned all the 'dirt' about these incredibly popular gemstones.
Nope, it's not Butte. But we discovered a pile of historical facts that all originated in this other important Montana town. When the town in question was to be platted, it's founder wanted to call it "Copperopolis".
Cool rocks and gemstones have been my jam since I was a little kid. Every family road trip would have me scouring the roadsides for "Rock Shop" signs or anything of the like.
We've all heard the stores about the Gold Rush and how hundreds of thousands moved west to try and prosper. What was Montana's role? Maybe bigger than you think.
The history of Montana is a rich one. Both figuratively and literally. With some colorful characters helping shape the history of the state, one of the most influential was Marcus Daly.