PULLMAN, Wash., Oct. 7 -- Washington State University issued the following news release:
A new National Science Foundation grant is helping researchers at Washington State University investigate how certain geologic systems form critical ore deposits, including at Mountain Pass mine in California's Mojave Desert, the largest source of rare earth elements in the United States.
Erin Benson, an assistant professor in the School of the Environment and faculty fellow with the Institute for Northwest Energy Futures (INEF), received the funding to study the geologic processes that concentrated rare earth elements at Mountain Pass. The research could ultimately help geologists identify similar deposits elsewhere.
"When we think about critical mi...