Public Comments Open on Proposed Rare Earth Mine Near Sacred Mato Tipila

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge) (Photo/Facebook) The U.S.

Forest Service is accepting public comments on a proposed open-pit rare earth ...

Skip to main Home News Finance Sports More Mail Search the web Advertisement Advertisement Return to Homepage Top Stories: Roller coaster tragedy Cornell rape case Bank of America penalized Kimberly Guilfoyle resigns 2026 midterm initiatives Feds search Ilhan Omar's home Social Security's 2027 COLA Who'll win the House?

South Carolina Senate debate Follow Public Comments Open on Proposed Rare Earth Mine Near Sacred Mato Tipila Native News Online Staff Sun, August 9, 2026 at 12:56 AM UTC 2 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge) (Photo/Facebook) The U.S.

Forest Service is accepting public comments on a proposed open-pit rare earth mine near Mato Tipila (Bear Lodge), a sacred site of profound cultural and spiritual importance to the Lakota and other Indigenous Nations.

has submitted a plan of operations for the Bear Lodge Rare Earth Project, which would include a more than 100-acre open-pit mine operating for nearly 20 years.

The proposed project is located approximately 12 miles north of Sundance, Wyoming, and would encompass about 1,060 acres of U.S.

Forest Service land and 640 acres of private property.

Opponents say the project threatens the cultural, spiritual and ecological integrity of Mato Tipila and surrounding lands.

The mine could affect air quality and expose the environment and nearby communities to radioactive or hazardous elements associated with rare earth mineral extraction and processing.

Concerns also include potential impacts to wildlife and habitat, including the northern long-eared bat, as well as local water resources and water quality.

Environmental concerns include acid rock drainage and potential radiation risks associated with processing rare earth-bearing mineral deposits.

For Indigenous people, however, the potential impacts extend beyond environmental concerns.

Mato Tipila is a sacred landscape, and opponents argue that industrial mining in the area would constitute a desecration of a place that holds deep cultural and spiritual significance.

The proposed project also raises broader questions about how the federal government balances the growing demand for critical minerals with its responsibility to protect sacred Indigenous sites and the lands, waters and wildlife connected to them.

The Forest Service is currently accepting public comments on the proposed project.

Those who oppose the mine are being urged to submit comments and call for protection of Mato Tipila, Unci Maka (Grandmother Earth) and the surrounding ecosystem.

Forest Service is accepting public comments on the proposed Bear Lodge Rare Earth Project through August 28, 2026 .

The post Public Comments Open on Proposed Rare Earth Mine Near Sacred Mato Tipila appeared first on Native News Online .