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The U.S. has numerous active mines, primarily extracting traditional commodities like copper and iron, while discarding a significant amount of rock that contains critical minerals. A study published in Science, led by Elizabeth Holley from the Colorado School of Mines, reveals that U.S. mine waste holds vast quantities of valuable elements such as lithium and manganese. For instance, mine waste could provide enough lithium for 10 million electric vehicles annually and manganese for 99 million. Even a 1 percent recovery rate could greatly reduce U.S. reliance on imports of these elements, vital for low-carbon technologies.
Domestic sourcing of critical minerals is increasingly important due to geopolitical tensions; for example, the U.S. heavily depends on foreign supplies, significantly from China and Australia. Policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act and recent presidential executive orders emphasize increasing domestic mineral production for economic and national security reasons.
Experts advocate for a multipronged approach to optimize mineral recovery from existing operations. Hamidreza Samouei from Texas A&M emphasized the need for more aggressive government policies to incentivize mineral recovery and minimize waste. While concerns over profitability and recovery costs remain, research into byproduct potential is gaining traction, with future strategies aiming to maximize minerals mined alongside traditional resources. Holley’s research serves as a crucial step towards developing these strategies, identifying specific sites with high byproduct yields, such as germanium and nickel.
Read this related Trek here:
America’s Mines Are Literally Throwing Away Critical Metals
