A near-Earth asteroid named Bennu has turned out to be full of surprises – the latest of which is the fact that it has a surface similar to a pit of plastic balls, according to NASA scientists.

The U.S. is sitting on a rare earths goldmine — not buried underground, but suspended in toxic wastewater. A long-polluted ...

Among the big waterborne prizes in the pit next to Butte are two light rare-earth elements (REEs), neodymium and praseodymium. They are vital for small, powerful magnets in electric vehicles ...

BUTTE, Mont. — Discussions over the possibility of mining vital minerals and rare-earth elements from Butte’s Berkeley Pit took a step forward on Wednesday. The state’s Environmental Quality ...

After long being a source of copper and strife, the contaminated Berkeley Pit has also shown to be chock-full of something potentially a little more positive: rare-earth elements. Rare-earth ...