Mountain Pass, UNITED STATES
To match feature ENVIRONMENT-MINING/TOYOTA
Rich Sixberry, operations general foreman at Molycorp Minerals Mountain Pass Mine in Mountain pass, California, looks over sacks of didymium oxide, a combination of two rare earth elements, in this August 19 2009 photo. The open-pit mine is home to the world's richest proven reserve of "rare earth" metals, a family of minerals vital to producing the powerful, lightweight magnets used in the engines of Toyota Motor Corp's Prius and generators in wind turbines. The same kind of magnets power the fins that steer precision-guided missiles. To match feature ENVIRONMENT-MINING/TOYOTAREUTERS/David Becker (UNITED STATES)