America Dug Into Old Coal Waste — What They Found Inside Is Worth Billions

America Dug Into Old Coal Waste — What They Found Inside Is Worth Billions Toxic coal ash sitting in ponds across America holds rare earth elements worth about $8.4 billion, nearly eight times the country's known reserves. These are the magnet metals China controls, the same shortage that stopped Ford's Explorer line for three weeks. From a Wyoming pilot plant to West Virginia mine water that now yields rare earths every year, see how America is turning coal waste into treasure.