Former mining sites are known to still contain key resources. They could help safeguard the domestic industry’s supply, while creating jobs.
The United States is ramping up efforts to strengthen its critical mineral supply chains by tapping an unlikely source: mine waste. On Thursday, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new initiative in line with ongoing federal efforts to enhance domestic resource security. The DOI aims to streamline federal regulations, make mine waste recovery projects eligible for federal funding, and prioritize the review of plans to extract critical minerals from abandoned mines. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has also been tasked with mapping and inventorying mine waste sites nationwide to support this initiative.
Reviving abandoned mining sites could secure essential supplies for U.S. industry while creating jobs in local communities, the DOI said. For example, one legacy lead and zinc mine in Oklahoma was found to contain significant amounts of germanium, a strategic metal used in electronics and optics and primarily produced by China. Similarly, rare earth elements have been discovered in clay deposits at former coal sites across Appalachia, another mineral group largely dominated by Chinese producers.
Communities in former coal-producing regions have struggled economically as the energy transition away from fossil fuels has progressed. In Appalachia alone, over 37,000 coal-related jobs were lost between 2011 and 2021, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission (PDF). Repurposing these sites for critical mineral extraction could both reduce foreign dependencies and deliver new economic opportunities to affected regions. The Federal Mining Dialogue (PDF) estimates that over 500,000 abandoned coal mines exist nationwide, which could be viable sources of valuable materials.
More on the potential of former coal mines as a source of critical minerals in our background article.
Photo: iStock/Maksim Safaniuk