NETL, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), is collaborating on projects at universities and companies across the country to extract rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals (CMs) from materials such as carbon ore and its waste materials. These projects have the potential to strengthen the U.S. economy and support revitalization in regions across the country that face economic adversity due to declines in carbon ore production and power plant communities.

REEs and CMs are vital for the production of medical equipment, energy components, defense technologies, modern electronics and a wide variety of other important consumer goods. The U.S. uses about 15,000 tons of REEs and CMs annually, but imports nearly all of its supply. Domestic production of these minerals using the country’s abundant carbon resources could protect American industries from disruptions in the globalized supply chain.

A total of $18 million was awarded for options by DOE to continue eight REE-CM contracts. Each project and entity selected had previously completed a conceptional design of a technology to produce at least 1-3 metric tons per day of mixed rare earth oxides, rare earth salts and other CMs from mostly carbon ore-based sources.

Several selected projects are striving to produce the desired REE concentrates at concentrations greater than or equal to 99% concentration by weight, while others aim to produce mixed rare earth oxides or salts as originally developed in the conceptual designs. All projects seek to make use of carbon feedstocks that will be available for at least five years and operate with minimal impact on the environment, which aligns with NETL’s goals of providing affordable and sustainable energy supplies.

DOE exercised the contract options to manage and carry out feasibility studies based on the conceptual designs for projects from Energy Fuels Resources (Lakewood, Colorado); Materia USA LLC (Inwood, New York); MP Mine Operations LLC (Mountain Pass, California); Tetra Tech Inc. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (Sierra Blanca, Texas); University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, North Dakota); West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia); and Winner Water Services Inc. (Sharon, Pennsylvania).

The feasibility studies are underway to assess each of these projects’ concepts. Each study, which will take 7-10 months to complete, aims to accelerate the advancement of technology to extract the CMs found in primarily carbon ore resources, but also potential alternate sources as well. NETL coordinated the conceptional design phase of the contracts and will continue organizing the feasibility study phase.

“The feasibility studies behind each of these projects ensures a holistic approach that will maximize value to the great number of stakeholders,” explained Anthony Zinn, NETL project manager. “For example, reports for an environmental justice assessment detailing how much freshwater, land and other resources used will be delivered upon completion of these studies.

“We’ll also examine how the technology remediates legacy environmental impacts of the energy industry, and the relationship between the amount of carbon wastes used versus the amount of REEs and CMs recovered. This way, we can make sure everyone benefits from these projects, especially the communities that kept the lights on across our country for decades.”

By developing new, environmentally sound uses for carbon ore waste and deploying these technologies on a large scale, NETL is helping to merge environmental remediation and job creation in communities that need it most while simultaneously working to achieve the clean power sector goals of the Biden-Harris Administration.

NETL is a DOE national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.