Minerals Sustainability

NETL work for FECM’s Minerals Sustainability Program seeks to ensure a secure domestic supply of critical minerals and materials using unconventional and secondary sources, extract the full economic value from carbon ore, and remediate legacy impacts associated with past extraction and utilization practices.

This program includes efforts in the areas of Critical Minerals & Materials and Carbon Ore Processing:

Critical Minerals & Materials

Validates the technical and economic feasibility of domestic small pilot-scale facilities to produce high purity critical minerals and materials from carbon ore and coal-based resources. Aims to produce 1-3 tonnes/day of high purity mixed rare earth oxides/salts in domestic demonstration-scale facilities and refine to metals or alternate user-specified products as required for use in the CMM supply chain using coal-based and alternate resources as feedstock materials. Another goal is to perform a regional assessment and production of CMM and novel high-value, nonfuel carbon-based products covering the whole U.S.

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Carbon Ore Processing

Focuses on utilizing materials associated with past extraction and utilization practices to produce valuable products such as carbon fibers and building materials.