The U.S. Department of the Interior took measures on Thursday (July 24th) to increase the recovery of critical minerals from mine waste, coal ash, tailings, and abandoned uranium mines, which are widely used in electric vehicles, high-tech weapons, and other industries.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum instructed the Department to streamline federal regulations to expedite the process of recovering rare earths, lithium, cobalt, and other key minerals from waste materials.
The directive requires the Department to update guidelines to qualify mine waste recovery projects for federal funding support. It also mandates the Department to expedite the review of plans to recover uranium and other minerals from abandoned mines. Additionally, the directive requires its subsidiary agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to map and inventory locations with federal mine waste.
This is the latest move by the Trump administration to promote domestic mining development. For a long time, China has dominated the global production and processing of minerals. To address this situation, President Trump signed an executive order in March this year citing the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to facilitate the processing of a range of critical minerals.
Burgum stated in a release, “This initiative reflects our firm commitment to achieving mineral independence, maintaining America’s leadership in advancing future technologies, and transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.”
The Interior Department oversees vast swaths of federal land, including some with abandoned mines.
The department expects the new measures to attract private investment, support environmental restoration, and promote energy supply.
Research by the USGS and state geological surveys has found zinc, germanium, tellurium, rare earth elements, and other mineral resources in closed and existing mines.
Mining companies have been actively involved in resource recovery efforts. For example, the U.S. mining company Freeport-McMoRan anticipates that by 2027, it can produce 800 million pounds (362.9 thousand metric tons) of copper annually by extracting metals from mine waste piles, which were previously considered worthless.
Recovering minerals from mining waste holds potential but requires new processing methods to protect the environment. Legal issues related to property rights may also complicate recovery efforts.
(This article is based on Reuters reporting)