Indiana leaders gathered this week to consider how the state could mine its ample coal waste for the rare earth elements key to modern technology – in a bid to boost domestic production and break China’s dominance.

“I want all these liabilities that we’ve got to turn into resources,” Kit Turpin, director of the state’s Abandoned Mine Land Program , told the Indiana Rare Earth Recovery Council at its first meeting Thursday.

Gov. Mike Braun created the group in an April executive order . He directed its 13 members to help develop a coal waste-based rare earths industry.

The 17 metallic elements are critical to defense, health care, power generation, transportation and other industries. They’re also in widely used consumer products, including iPhones and LED lights.

Despite their name

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