U.S. To Open Domestic Supply Of Critical Minerals From Mine Waste

Forbes

4 days ago

An abandoned cinnabar ore mine for mercury in Texas.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has issued an order to unlock federal dollars to recover above-ground critical minerals from functioning and abandoned mine waste to bolster the national technological supply chain.
Issued July 23, the five-page order is called 'Unlocking Critical and Strategic Minerals from Mine Waste, Cutting Red Tape, and Restoring American Dominance in Strategic Mineral Production.'
Burgum's order stressed the need to have a resilient domestic source of critical minerals for national security and to decrease the need for imports for the key components found in a wide variety of products such as cellphones and computers.
It noted the U.S. has 'the resources within our borders to reduce our dependence on imports while strengthening our own economy. One promising domestic source of critical minerals is in mine waste. These critical minerals exist in substantial quantities in mine waste across the Nation.'
Critical minerals sources will be sites with mine waste from current operations and abandoned mines, coal refuse, tailings and abandoned uranium mines. The order pointed specifically to waste found in 111 abandoned uranium mines across the western U.S. that are currently 'posing an environmental challenge that innovative technologies can now address.' The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes some of these derelict uranium mines in its Western AUM Region operated in the 1950s and 1960s on native American tribal lands. EPA is working with the Navajo Nation to remediate existing public chemical and radiological hazards.
'By unlocking the potential of our mine waste, we are not only recovering valuable critical minerals essential for our economy and national security, but we are also leveraging groundbreaking research from the U.S. Geological Survey that identifies promising sources of these minerals,' Burgum stated in a July 24 press announcement. 'This initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to achieving mineral independence and ensuring that America leads the way in advanced technologies that power our future while turning environmental challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.'
States with cooperative agreements with USGS to identify mine waste as an above-ground source for ... More critical minerals.
One section of the order directs the USGS to make more data and maps about mine waste available for the public in a move that would promote participation by private industry to reclaim the critical minerals from waste sites. The USGS is also instructed to develop an inventory of the types and quantities of critical minerals that can be recovered from the waste.
Already USGS has identified potential locations of strategic minerals such as germanium, tellurium, rare earth elements and zinc in abandoned and current mining sites.
In Oklahoma, former lead and zinc mining has resulted in waste containing zinc and germanium—minerals now imported.
'Regionally, the Coeur d'Alene silver mining site in Idaho contains approximately $2.5 billion worth of precious minerals, including antimony and arsenic, illustrating the resources hidden in these waste materials. Rare earth elements, crucial for advanced technologies used in hard drives, electric vehicles, and military applications, have been detected in clay found in coal deposits across the Appalachian and Illinois basins, as reported by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey,' says the Department of Interior.
In addition, Utah has significant amounts of tellurium that can be taken from tailings from copper mining and used in defense technologies.
'Recovering critical minerals from mine waste is integral to strengthening America's mineral independence while promoting economic growth and national security,' Scott Cameron, acting assistant secretary for water and science, noted in the media statement. 'The collaboration between USGS and state geological surveys exemplifies how science-driven innovation can transform environmental challenges into strategic resources that bolster our industries and defense capabilities.'
By repurposing this unused source of waste, the federal government seeks to open up new business opportunities and create domestic sources of critical minerals needed in key technologies.