From EcoPortal.net, a story titled 36,000,000 kg under this American region ? It’s better than lithium and the end of China:
A recent discovery may put an end to the most recent chapter of the trade war between China and Western nations involving a specific mineral. Known as “the unicorn of critical mineral deposits“, gallium (Ga) is an elusive metal with no existing primary mines, but a new source was recently found in the American territory. Used to produce gallium nitride semiconductors, key components of many high-tech devices, this mineral is one of the bases of some advanced missile systems used as an effective defense artifact against long-range missiles.
. . .
Now, a new spot was founded in another North American state, and it has even more than gallium. The discovery was made at Round Top Mountain, in Texas, and is a rhyolite intrusion enriched in a wide range of rare earth elements (REE). Considering the enormous size of the mountain, 822 Mt, it is estimated that it contains about 365,000,000 kg of gallium. It should be enough to supply the world’s demand for over 100 years. Also, another discovery made in an American mine should leave the world stunned.
Round Top Mountain is that lump of desert right before you get to the Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 East, right before Sierra Blanca.
There are economic and environmental considerations and opportunities implicated.
Like maybe you should open a topless steakhouse in Sierra Blanca.
(Do you think anyone has even ever thought those words before?)
Photo via Google.