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A Treasure Trove of Key Minerals Is Being Wasted in the U.S., Study Claims
The United States is sitting on a treasure trove of key minerals, and it’s being wasted. According to a new study published in Science, there is a significant amount of critical elements hidden in plain sight within the country’s mine waste.
The research analyzed 70 critical elements at 54 active mines across the nation and found that there is enormous potential for recovery. For instance, there is enough lithium in one year of U.S. mine waste to power 10 million electric vehicles. Similarly, the study suggests that manganese could be produced in vast quantities, with a staggering 99 million units available.
These figures far surpass both U.S. import levels and current demand for these elements. Critical minerals are essential for the production of lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, and other low- or zero-carbon technologies driving the clean energy transition.
It’s long been a contentious issue as to where these critical materials come from. The majority of lithium comes from Australia, Chile, and China, while cobalt is predominantly sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, in recent years, there has been an increased push for securing a domestic supply of rare or critical materials. Former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate legislation, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, included incentives for domestic critical mineral production. Additionally, current President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking wartime powers that would permit more leasing and extraction on federal lands.
Furthermore, China recently expanded export controls on rare earth metals, emphasizing the precarious nature of the global market.
Professor Elizabeth Holley from the Colorado School of Mines emphasized that simply increasing byproduct recovery could address this instability. Even a 1% recovery rate could substantially reduce import reliance for most elements. Recovering 4% of lithium would fully offset current imports.
Holley proposes that existing mines could focus on additional circuits to their processes, allowing them to recover more minerals and drive the production of critical resources.
Source: gizmodo.com
