Indiana is preparing to work with private industry to determine the feasibility of retrieving rare earth elements from its legacy coal byproducts.
Gov. Mike Braun has been spearheading efforts to explore how to create a new revenue stream for the state’s economy while lowering reliance on Chinese rare earth elements.
Recently he announced the approval of a report he requested from the Indiana Rare Earth Recovery Council. Braun established the council last April in Executive Order 25-62.
“Indiana is taking the lead on bringing together federal, state, academic, and industry experts to develop a strategy for rare earth elements that advances America’s key national and economic interests,” Braun noted in a Jan. 6 announcement about the report. “This work, which Indiana is uniquely positioned to lead as a top coal-producing state, is critical to our state and to our nation.”
The 83-page report is called “Indiana’s Opportunity in Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals”. Completed in December, the study was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Indiana Office of Energy Development.
Recommendations included:
- Evaluating potential state financial incentives such as performance-based tax credits or refundable grants for pilot/demonstration plants,
- Streamlining state government permitting to create a one-stop, fast-track process,
- Pursuing federal grants as an economic development source of matching funds, and
- Working with private industry to identify priority partners for projects and find sites to develop.
The Indiana Rare Earth Recovery Council noted that industry outreach should involve consultations with specialists and/or selecting a university-led team to determine interest in future ventures.
A Look at Indiana’s Coal
Indiana numbers among the leading coal producers. In 2024, it had 15 coal-producing mines that yielded 20,147 short tons, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s “Annual Coal Report 2024,” the latest one available.
Over the years, the state’s mining industry has resulted in large quantities of coal mining waste that are being viewed as having the potential to be reused to extract rare earth elements and other critical minerals.
“In addition to large reserves of in-situ (unmined) coal, Indiana’s extensive coal preparation activities and coal combustion history have generated large volumes of fine tailings, coarse refuse, and coal ash,” Indiana’s report stated. “These waste materials, already mined and concentrated, could provide a lower-cost, strategically important pathway for domestic REE-CM [rare earth elements- critical minerals] production.”
Next Steps Identified
The Indiana Rare Earth Recovery Council intends to start from two to three pilot projects to experiment with recovery from coal refuse, coal ash and acid mine drainage. These test projects would also include environmental monitoring
In addition, the council would form a public–private Rare Earth Elements Consortium composed of state government, university and industry partners.
Another key objective is to integrate the recovery of rare earth elements from legacy coal byproducts into Indiana’s energy and economic plans.
The Council’s report acknowledged that all of Indiana’s potential sources of rare earth elements are thought to have low concentrations.
“Technologically, the extraction of the elements from such sources has been proven to be feasible, but costly,” the report noted. “Therefore, economic viability will depend on slashing processing costs, co-producing byproducts, and aligning with federal and state efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.”
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China produces 70% and processes 90% of of rare earth metals and compounds.
“Indiana possesses vast, underutilized reserves of legacy coal byproducts, which, if responsibly remediated, could serve as a valuable domestic feedstock for the production of critical materials, advancing national security, energy independence, and cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities,” noted the governor’s Executive Order.
