The Bitterroot National Forest received a notice of intent to conduct mineral exploration from the U.S. Critical Materials and U.S. Critical Metals Corp. on a site 38 miles south of Darby.

The historic Sheep Creek columbite mine site is near the headwaters of the west fork of the Bitterroot River.

Exploration activities will include soil, stream sediment and rock chip sampling with hand tools, mapping and ground and air surveys.

Deposits were found in 1953 but recently stirred interest when the exploration companies announced in a press release in March that total rare earth oxides found in the formations in the area were "far ahead of any other domestic rare earth resource."

"The deposit also has readings of 2.4 percent (23,810ppm) combined neodymium and praseodymium, which are both essential for the green economy," the press release noted.

Rare earth elements are necessary components to create a number of electronic devices and electric vehicles. In 2022, the White House announced it was investing millions of dollars to bring rare earth element production stateside, as China has been the primary producer of the materials for decades. According to the U.S. Critical Materials website, Montana Tech has received funding from the US Army Research Lab to research the formations.

If the U.S. Forest Service determines the exploration will significantly disturb resources, the corporation must submit a proposed plan of operations.