Highlights

• South Dakota hosts 15 federally designated critical minerals including lithium, graphite, and tungsten in the Black Hills, but none are rare earth elements, despite headlines conflating the two supply chains.
• Exploration interest is growing, but geologists caution that mineral presence doesn't equal economic viability; commercial production requires proven grade, recovery rates, permitting, and downstream buyers.
• Unlike Wyoming's Bear Lodge rare earth project with domestic separation capabilities, South Dakota lacks midstream processing infrastructure, highlighting that strategic independence requires more than just mining.

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South Dakota is back in the critical minerals conversation—but not in the way many headlines imply. As global demand rises and geopolitical tension with China (and now Greenland) sharpens, the state is seeing renewed exploration interest across critical minerals—not rare earth elements (REEs). That distinction matters.

What the Geology Actually Says

The reporting (opens in a new tab) via KOTA is accurate on the facts. South Dakota hosts 15 federally designated critical minerals, including lithium, graphite, manganese, niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and vanadium, concentrated largely in the Black Hills and parts of central South Dakota. None are rare earth elements. These minerals matter for batteries, alloys, defense systems, and industrial manufacturing—but they sit in different supply chains than NdPr-based permanent magnets.

Geologists are right to be cautious. Pegmatites may contain lithium or tantalum, but their presence is not economic. Exploration is still early-stage. No commercial-scale production has been demonstrated, and monetization depends on grade, recovery rates, permitting, and downstream buyers.

Where the Narrative Overreaches

The article implicitly links South Dakota’s exploration debate to the rare earth supply crisis. That’s where clarity slips. Critical minerals are not interchangeable. Lithium and graphite shortages do not solve the rare earth magnet dependence. Nor does local mining automatically translate into supply-chain control.

This is the core REEx lesson: rocks are upstream; power is midstream. Separation, refining, alloying, and component manufacturing—not just extraction—determine strategic value. On those layers, China still dominates.

Wyoming Shows the Difference

The contrast with neighboring Wyoming is instructive. Rare Element Resources is advancing a genuine rare earth project at Bear Lodge, paired with a domestic separation demonstration plant in Upton. That is a supply-chain play, not just a mining story. It’s why NdPr matters—and why the comparison to Beijing is not rhetorical.

South Dakota, by contrast, is still debating whether lithium should even be regulated as hard-rock mining.

The Real Stakes

Environmental concerns are legitimate, especially given the Black Hills’ water constraints and legacy Superfund sites. But so is the strategic backdrop. The risk is not mining per se—it is confusing exploration with independence.

South Dakota may yet become relevant in batteries or specialty metals. But it is not a rare earth solution, and headlines should not imply otherwise.

Source: South Dakota News Watch / KOTA, January 29, 2026