A new study led by Elizabeth Holley, a professor of mining engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, noted that:
“Ninety percent recovery of by-products from existing
domestic metal mining operations could meet nearly all US critical mineral
needs; one percent recovery would substantially reduce import reliance for most
elements evaluated.”
The researchers looked at 70
critical minerals and 54 active mines. Both Biden and Trump have been pushing
for more domestic critical minerals production. We know that we can extract
rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals from coal mine waste and
wastewater. Holley noted that their paper introduces a strategy for developing
critical minerals from mineral mining waste as byproducts. She noted some
low-hanging fruit:
“…the Red Dog mine in Alaska appears to have the largest
germanium potential in the country, while nickel could be found at the
Stillwater and East Boulder mines in Montana.”
The U.S. government continues
to strongly support domestic critical minerals production and processing,
especially to reduce our reliance on foreign sources, mainly China. The
government just took a $400 million stake in an REE mine. At the same time, the
current government also cut funding for the USGS and the DOE’s Science Office.
According to Phys.org:
“To conduct the analysis, Holley and her team built a
database of annual production from federally permitted metal mines in the U.S.
They used a statistical resampling technique to pair these data with the
geochemical concentrations of critical minerals in ores, recently compiled by
the U.S. Geological Survey, Geoscience Australia and the Geologic Survey of
Canada.”
“Using this approach, Holley's team was able to estimate
the quantities of critical minerals being mined and processed every year at
U.S. metal mines but not being recovered. Instead, these valuable minerals are
ending up as discarded tailings that must be stored and monitored to prevent
environmental contamination.”
Theoretically, these mine
waste resources could meet our needs for every critical mineral except platinum
and palladium. Importantly, we could meet our needs for germanium and cobalt.
Other important minerals that can be obtained include lithium, gallium, and
REEs such as neodymium and yttrium. Mine waste from zinc and gold mines could
be major sources. Processing the mine tailings for secondary recovery of
critical minerals could also reduce the amount of waste currently oxidizing and
making acidic water that leaches more metals and makes the water toxic and
dangerous to wildlife.
Holley also noted that there
is a need for policies and incentives to increase the amount of processing for
waste-derived minerals. While the metals may be there, it may be less
economical to extract them, and thus, there is a need for support to get these
extraction industries moving. There is also a need to deal with the water
requirements for minerals processing, especially in areas of the Western U.S.
where water is scarce.
The DOE recently announced
four different funding mechanisms to help develop domestic critical minerals
from mine waste, including coal mine waste. These are summarized by Hiolland
& Knight below:
“The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Aug. 13, 2025,
unveiled four major funding initiatives aimed at accelerating the domestic
production, processing and recycling of critical minerals and materials.
Collectively, these planned Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) represent
nearly $1 billion in potential federal investment to fortify U.S. supply
chains, advance energy dominance and reduce reliance on foreign entities of
concern (FEOCs).”
As noted, this effort will continue to
need support until processing of tailings for minerals is better developed and
more economical.
References:
US
already has the critical minerals it needs—but they're being thrown away, new
analysis shows. Science X staff. Phys.org. August 22, 2025. US
already has the critical minerals it needs—but they're being thrown away, new
analysis shows
10
million EVs could be powered by lithium hidden in one year of US mine waste. Kaif
Shaikh. Interesting Engineering. August 25, 2025. 10
million EVs could be powered by lithium hidden in one year of US mine waste
By-product
recovery from US metal mines could reduce import reliance for critical minerals.
Elizabeth A. Holley, Karlie M. Hadden, Dorit Hammerling, Rod Eggert, D. Erik
Spiller, and Priscilla P. Nelson. Science. August 21, 2025. By-product recovery
from US metal mines could reduce import reliance for critical minerals |
Science
US
mines are literally throwing away critical minerals. Tik Root. Grist. August
21, 2025. US
mines are literally throwing away critical minerals | Grist
DOE
Announces 4 New Critical Minerals Funding Opportunities. Taite R. McDonald | Elizabeth M. Noll
| Katherine G. Hantson | Joseph Greenberg | James Steinbauer | Molly Ross |
Katherine D. Speece | Mackenzie A. Zales | Halley I. Townsend. Holland &
Knight. August 18, 2025. DOE
Announces 4 New Critical Minerals Funding Opportunities | Insights | Holland
& Knight
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