New ‘black gold’ of Alabama to put state on map for automakers

The state of Alabama will soon be an even bigger part of the automaking industry, thanks to a rare earth mineral found deep in east-central Alabama. A 37 mile swath of land known as the Graphite Belt runs entirely across Coosa County and into adjacent Alabama counties. It is expected to make the state the number one supplier of the critical mineral required to make lithium-ion batteries.

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