Editorial policy
Editorial policy: independence, no investment advice, corrections
The directory reports facts about US rare earth mines and companies, takes no payment from them and gives no investment advice. It attributes company claims, reports disputes as allegations with the response, and corrects confirmed errors within 48 hours.
Verified through Oct 1, 2026
Is the directory independent?
Yes. As of Oct 1, 2026 the directory has no advertising, sponsorship or paid listings, and no company can pay to change a status, a grade or the order of a table. Company names identify companies and carry no endorsement.
- No paid placementPosition in a table follows the data, such as status, amount or date, and never a commercial relationship.
- If sponsorship is introducedIt will be labeled as such, kept apart from the editorial fields, unable to affect a status, a grade or an order, and announced on this page before it starts.
- Companies can supply documentsA company can send a filing or release that shows a fact is wrong or out of date. The corrections page explains how.
Does the directory give investment advice?
No. The directory reports facts about companies and projects. It publishes no price targets, ratings, forecasts or buy and sell opinions, and it shows no stock prices. Tickers and exchanges appear as facts only.
Nothing here is a recommendation. The directory is not an investment adviser, and its pages are not personal advice. A government investment, a loan or a letter of interest is reported with its status and is not a signal about a company's value. Do your own research and speak to a licensed adviser before you invest.
How does the directory write about companies?
Every page puts the subject first, gives numbers with their unit, basis and date, labels claims that only the company makes, and describes a letter or a target for what it is. Eight rules apply to every page.
| Rule | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject first | A sentence starts with the thing it is about and states the fact, so the answer comes before the context. | Mountain Pass in California is the only active primary rare earth mine in the United States. |
| Numbers with their basis | A figure keeps its unit, its basis and its date. | About 19% of common shares as of Nov 2025. |
| Attribute claims | A claim that only the company makes is labeled and credited. | "Company-reported", "the company says", "according to". |
| Superlatives are attributed | "First", "only" and "largest" appear only when a source says so, and the page names the source. | VAC describes the Sumter plant as the first large-scale US producer in more than a quarter century (company claim). |
| Targets are targets | A schedule or capacity a company aims for is called a target and never written as a result. | First production targeted for 2031. |
| Letters are not money | A letter of interest, a conditional commitment or a selection for negotiation is never described as money received. | EXIM letter of interest, non-binding, up to $750M. |
| No prices or forecasts | No stock prices, price targets, ratings or forecasts of our own. Company-stated targets are reported as such. | A ticker appears as an identifier, for example NYSE: MP. |
| Names as sourced | Agencies and companies are named as their own documents name them. | "Department of War" or "Department of Defense", as the source says. |
How does the directory handle lawsuits and controversy?
Lawsuits and controversies are reported as allegations, with the document or report that raised them, the response from the party concerned where one exists, and the date. The directory takes no view on the merits.
| Page | The matter | How it is shown |
|---|---|---|
| Brook Mine | Two pending lawsuits connected to Ramaco and the mine. | Reported as allegations, with the court, the filing date and the company's response. |
| Vulcan Elements | Reporting, and letters from a senator and an ethics group, about how its Pentagon loan came about. | Attributed to who raised each point, with the company's and officials' responses. No conclusion is drawn. |
| White Mesa Mill | Health and groundwater concerns raised by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and White Mesa residents about the mill and its license amendment. | Attributed, with the responses of Energy Fuels and Utah regulators and the dates of the license process. |
| Sheep Creek | Opposition from residents, county commissioners and conservation groups to the exploration plan. | Attributed, with the Forest Service process and the company's revised plan. |
If you are a party to a matter described on a page and have a document that changes the account, send it through the corrections page. The page will show your response with its source.
How is AI used to produce the pages?
Research and first drafts are produced with an AI assistant (Claude, from Anthropic) that searches the web and reads public documents. Each figure is tied to a source you can open, and the publisher is responsible for what is published.
- What the assistant doesFinds and reads filings, releases and reports, extracts figures with their basis and dates, and drafts the text and tables.
- What keeps it honestEvery profile lists its sources with a type tag, grades are checked against the evidence cited, and conflicts between sources are shown, not resolved silently.
- Where it can failAn assistant can misread a document or miss a newer one. That is why sources sit next to every profile and why corrections are fast and logged.
How does the directory handle errors?
A confirmed error is fixed within 48 hours, and the change is logged with its date, the page and the reason. Anyone can report an error or a newer fact, and a company can send a document that shows a fact is out of date.
Who is behind the directory, and what interests are disclosed?
The directory is run by an independent editor and publisher. The About page says how to reach them, and any financial interest in a listed company is listed here.
Disclosures. The publisher has recorded no financial interest in any listed company as of Oct 1, 2026. Any such interest will be listed here when it arises.
See About for contact details and how to cite the directory.
Questions about the editorial policy
Can a company pay to be listed or featured?
No. A company is listed when it owns or is building a US rare earth mine, project or plant, or supplies the US chain as a refiner, metal maker, magnet maker or recycler. No payment affects a listing, a status, a grade or the order of a table. The get listed page explains how to ask.
Does the directory accept sponsored content or guest posts?
Not at present. As of Oct 1, 2026 the directory has no advertising, sponsorship, paid listings or guest posts. If that changes, this page will say so before it happens.
Why do pages mention stock tickers?
A ticker identifies a company and the exchange where it trades, which is a fact about the company. The directory shows no prices and offers no view on whether a stock is a good or bad investment.
Does the directory take a side on policy?
No. Policy pages report what an agency or a company did, when, and under which instrument. They do not argue for or against a policy.
About this directory
Where do I go next?
- About What the directory covers, who maintains it and how to cite it.
- Methodology How a fact is checked, graded and dated, and what the labels mean.
- Sources Every document the pages cite, by type, with the pages that cite it.
- Report a correction How to tell us about an error or a newer fact, and what happens next.
- Get listed Add a company or project, or claim a profile. Free, and nothing can be bought.
- Updates log Dated changes to published facts, and why each was made.