USA Sourced Critical Materials: From Byproducts to Coproducts

DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has committed an estimated $176 million since January 2021 for projects that support critical minerals and materials exploration, resource identification, production, and processing in traditional mining and fossil fuel-producing communities across the country. Initial estimates suggest that unconventional and secondary sources could provide significant amounts of the rare earth elements and other critical minerals and materials. For example, wastes and byproducts from known fossil fuel reserves and other industries nation-wide currently contain more than 10 million tons of rare earth elements, which is equivalent to more than a 300-year supply at the current rate of U.S. consumption. Energy and mining waste streams also need to be remediated, so there is an opportunity to recover critical minerals during reclamation which puts the critical material recovery on a firm project timeline.

Join this session to:

• Hear from project developers of unconventional and secondary sources of rare earth elements (REEs) and lithium (Li) in the U.S.
• Discuss complementary DOE funding programs and EPA, DEP remediation requirements
• Highlight opportunities for investors, developers and other partners.

Download and View the Session/Presentation Deck

Speakers