U.S. Mines' Byproducts May Cut Critical Mineral Imports

A new statistical analysis of geochemical datasets by Elizabeth Holley and colleagues suggests that the U.S. could reduce its dependence on critical mineral imports by recovering ore byproducts from its active metal mines. Holley et al. conclude that 90% recovery of these byproducts "could meet nearly all U.S. critical mineral needs; one percent recovery would substantially reduce import reliance for most elements evaluated." A host of minerals, including cobalt, nickel, manganese, lithium, tellurium, germanium, and more, have been designated in the U.S. as critical minerals for their importance in technologies from batteries to magnets to solar panels. Increased demand and geopolitical conflict in major mining regions, along with the long timeline for developing new mines, make a new domestic source of these minerals an attractive prospect for the U.S. To estimate the amount of these minerals that could be recovered domestically as byproducts, Holley et al. analyzed two databases covering the main commodity production of U.S. metal mines and the geochemistry for 70 critical minerals analyzed across ore samples in the U.S. In most cases, recovering less than 10% of the byproducts would generate a larger gross dollar amount than the main products of U.S. metal mines, according to the researchers.