Earlier this month, I had the honor of standing in Ranchester, Wyo., witnessing a moment that will reshape America's energy and national security landscape for generations to come. The opening of the Ramaco Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project marks not just a milestone for Wyoming, but a turning point for our nation's strategic independence.

This isn't just another mining operation. The Ramaco Brook Mine represents the first new rare earth mine in the U.S. in more than 70 years, and the first new coal mine in Wyoming in more than 50 years.

Standing alongside Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, my colleague Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Gov. Mark Gordon, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), and former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W,Va.), I witnessed firsthand America taking a crucial step toward breaking our dangerous dependence on foreign critical minerals.

The reality is stark: China controls roughly 80 percent of the global rare earth supply chain. This stranglehold poses a serious threat to our national security, future economic prosperity, and U.S. technological........

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