Apr. 23âA Texas firm hunting rare earth elements in Hazleton received $1.1 million to design a processing plant.
Using the grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Texas Mineral Resources Consortium has seven months to complete its design.
If the department likes the plan, Texas Mineral would seek funding to build a plant that would help keep mine workers employed in the search for valuable elements that lurk within coal waste.
Texas Mineral started testing overburden at Jeddo Coal in Hazleton and elsewhere in the Anthracite Region for rare earth elements four years ago. Its research brought then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry to Hazleton for a visit.