The U.S. government took a large step to retrieve critical minerals from mine waste by awarding 13 states nearly $3 million to help identify their holdings and create inventories.
The pacts were formed by the U.S. Geological Survey with Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
The states entered into cooperative agreements with the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative.
“Mine waste from former and active mines is an accessible, aboveground source of those minerals, and these agreements allow the states to collaborate with us on work that’s important for the nation—with potential to offset the cost of cleanup, and grow the mineral economy in their states,” Jamey Jones, science coordinator of the USGS Earth MRI, announced Sept. 25.
The national USGS MRI partners with state geological surveys, industry and educational institutions to map critical minerals by searching underneath the ground surface as well as in old mine tailings.
“The USGS is mapping the critical minerals needed for the U.S. economy and national security across the country,” Jones added.
The five states receiving the largest federal awards will have funds to perform both critical mineral inventories and product characterizations. These are:
- Nevada—$349,694,
- Montana—$348,841,
- Oregon—$347,160,
- New Mexico—$338,099, and
- Arizona—$333,117.
The mine waste characterization requires collecting field samples to analyze for critical minerals. “This helps determine the presence and quantity of critical minerals, as well as potential challenges for remediation,” according to USGS.
Colorado was the sole state awarded funds ($70,851) to only characterize what types of critical minerals are contained in its mine waste.
In July, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a five-page order called “Unlocking Critical and Strategic Minerals from Mine Waste, Cutting Red Tape, and Restoring American Dominance in Strategic Mineral Production.”
The directive stressed the national importance of having a resilient domestic source of critical minerals for national security and reducing imports. Critical minerals are found in a wide variety of electronics.
