It is true that the supply chains for some of the most critical minerals are controlled by China, raising concerns in the West that Beijing is exercising political leverage. But experts have good news for Washington.
Given that these metals are considered essential in the US for military and energy technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines and batteries, scientists say that the US could meet most of the growing demand for critical minerals without opening new mines.
As New Scientist reports, citing research by the Colorado School of Mines in the US (“We could get most metals for clean energy without opening new mines“), the ore residues discarded by American mines are full of key minerals.
They are so important that they provide virtually all the raw material needed to build clean energy technologies. Recovering even a small fraction of these minerals could meet the country’s growing demand for green energy without imports or environmentally damaging new mines — but doing so alone is not easy.
Today, most individual mines focus on extracting just a few types of minerals, such as copper or gold. This involves digging up ore, crushing it, and then isolating the main product through various metallurgical processes. What’s left is discarded as tailings.
Beneficiation, not mining
Holley and her colleagues examined thousands of ore samples and production data from mines across the United States.
They used this information to estimate the volume of other minerals that could be extracted from 54 active hard rock metal mines if new processing/refining steps were added.
For some minerals, they found that recovering just 1% of what is contained in mining by-products would be enough to replace all of the current U.S. imports. Other minerals required higher recovery rates, from 10% to 90%, to replace imports. And for some metals—such as gold, platinum, and palladium—imports would be required even if 100% of the quantities were recovered from by-products.
This would help secure supply chains and reduce the environmental impact of mining.
Huge Opportunity
Brian McNulty of the University of British Columbia in Canada says this shows that “the opportunity is huge” — but much more research is needed to translate estimates of total quantities into actual recovery.
Knowing where these minerals are is far from the only obstacle. Current processing technology is not well suited to these small and complex waste streams, and installing the necessary technology is too expensive for most American mines, says Megan O’Connor of Nth Cycle, a startup focused on recovering critical minerals from non-traditional sources.
Mines may also be hesitant to invest money in recovering new types of minerals when future demand is so uncertain. Whether it’s electric vehicle batteries or solar panels, technology is changing exponentially faster than the way we mine.
Despite its hostility to renewables, the Trump administration has made boosting U.S. production of critical minerals a key part of its agenda. Last week, the Department of Energy announced nearly $1 billion in funding for unconventional mining efforts, including $250 million specifically for recovering minerals from mining byproducts and waste.
A Department of Energy spokesperson says that these mine wastes are “a significant domestic opportunity” and could help the U.S. diversify its sources of critical minerals and materials.
