• Update and encouraging the completion of required steps for the release of matched funding to build a processing and separation demonstration facility. To provide funding for the completion of a feasibility study to assess the economic feasibility of mining a high-grade rare earth mineral deposit with advanced processing and separation technology.

Duration: February 1, 2011 to March 18, 2016

General Issues: Natural Resources

Spending: about $496,000 (But it's complicated. Here's why.)

It can be tricky to figure out how much an organization spent on a particular lobbying engagement. The law only requires lobbyists to report the amount they were paid for federal lobbying each quarter rounded to the nearest $10,000—and if it's less than $3,000 in a given quarter (or less than $13,000 for organizations with in-house lobbyists), they don't have to disclose it at all. Plus, some organizations include spending that doesn’t belong in the report—for instance, money spent lobbying state governments or other legal work.

Agencies lobbied since 2011: U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, Transportation - Dept of (DOT), Energy - Dept of, U.S. Forest Service, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Agriculture - Dept of (USDA), Commerce - Dept of (DOC), Defense - Dept of (DOD), White House Office, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Defense - Dept of (DOD), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Agriculture - Dept of (USDA)