Study: US mine tailings hold 70+ critical raw materials, including lithium
The United States is home to dozens of mines. Some extract simple copper or iron. The overburden often contains important raw materials that can be utilized.
The "Rio Tinto Borax Mine", the world's largest borate mine, in California.
(Image: Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock.com)
In a study published in the journal Science, Elizabeth Holley, Professor of Mining Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and colleagues took a close look at the overburden that is produced during the extraction of raw materials in US mines. This was reported by the US media portal Grist, which currently has 40 active journalists reporting on climate change as a non-profit in the USA.
Holley's team found that the potential for the recovery of over 70 critical raw materials is very high in the 54 currently active mines in the USA. For example, there is enough lithium in one year of US mine waste to produce batteries for around 10 million electric vehicles. Manganese could also be extracted from the overburden in relevant quantities. Critical raw materials are crucial for the production of lithium-ion batteries, solar panels and other low- or zero-carbon technologies that are driving the transition to clean energy.
Concerns about import dependency
The vast majority of lithium processed in the U.S. currently comes from Australia, Chile and China, while cobalt comes primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Securing a domestic supply of rare or critical raw materials is increasingly on the political agenda. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which was passed under Biden, already included incentives for the domestic production of critical raw materials. This year, President Donald Trump then signed a decree to facilitate the extraction of critical raw materials on federal territory: "Our national and economic security is now acutely threatened by our dependence on mineral production by hostile foreign powers". Access to critical raw materials has been declared a matter of national security.
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The study states that increased recovery of by-products domestically could reduce this dependence on imported raw materials. Even a recovery rate of 1 percent would "substantially reduce" dependence on imports for most elements. A recovery of 4 percent lithium would completely offset current imports. "We could focus on existing corporate mines and simply integrate additional circuits into their process," said Holley. "That would be a really quick way to get a needed mineral into production."
The general thrust of the study in Science is not new, said Isabel Barton, a professor of geological engineering at the University of Arizona: "It's a hotly debated topic in mining." The study may be contributing to a growing shift in thinking from an intense focus on the target mineral to considering what else could be produced, including critical minerals. "There are some that are probably relatively easy to extract. There are others that are extremely difficult to achieve," Barton said, and whether a mineral is extracted ultimately comes down to cost. "Mining companies are there to make a profit."
(sha)
