January 4, 2026
Periodic table of facepalms
North Dakota law lists fake critical minerals based on coal lawyers' names
Law lists fake “minerals” after coal lawyers — did anyone read this
TLDR: North Dakota’s new mining law accidentally included two made-up minerals seemingly named after coal lawyers; the lawyers deny adding them. Commenters mocked the process, asking if anyone read the bill and pointing to other legislative goofs, making trust and oversight the big worry
North Dakota just put two made-up minerals—“stralium” and “friezium”—into a law, and the internet is howling. The names look suspiciously like two coal company attorneys who worked on the bill, but one of them says, nope, not us. Commenters aren’t buying the process, with one calling it “embarrassing” for the state and asking, do lawmakers even know what they’re doing. Another user points out that one fake was flagged and removed, yet these two slipped through, fueling the “nobody read this” chorus.
The drama centers on trust: some say it’s a harmless glitch; others see it as a neon sign that industry is ghostwriting legislation. One commenter drops receipts with a North Dakota Monitor report, while another compares it to Canada banning guns that only exist in video games—aka governments doing Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Chaos. Jokes are flying: the “Periodic Table of Lobbyists,” “Minecraft ores now legally critical,” and “Stralium & Friezium” as a superhero duo saving paperwork from proofreading.
Underneath the memes is a real fear: this bill shapes mining and energy policy. If fake minerals can sneak in, what else can? The community’s verdict: audit the process, read the bills, and maybe leave the naming to actual geologists, not the comment section—though, to be fair, they’re crushing it
Key Points
- •North Dakota’s critical minerals law includes two fictional entries: “stralium” and “friezium.”
- •The fake names appear to reference coal industry attorneys involved with the bill.
- •North American Coal attorney David Straley spoke in favor of the bill at a March 27, 2025 hearing.
- •Straley says he and others were not responsible for adding the fake names to the law.
- •The article notes the law’s current definition includes these non-existent minerals and does not outline corrective actions.