Research reveals that US mining operations are missing out on a hidden goldmine that could power millions of EVs.
American mining companies have been discarding massive amounts of valuable minerals essential for electric vehicle batteries, potentially missing out on an economic opportunity worth billions of dollars.
A new study from Colorado School of Mines researchers has revealed that US mining operations routinely throw away materials like cobalt, lithium and gallium.
The thing is, all of these elements are needed to produce EV batteries, solar panels, electronics and military gear, which could change the United States' position in the trading market.
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According to the study, US mines waste enough lithium annually to power 10 million electric car batteries, while discarded manganese could help build 99 million EVs.
While the elements are being extracted, they are soon discarded as US miners focus on other materials like gold, copper, and zinc.
If the US used this hidden goldmine, the country could shift its reliance and heavy expenditure on importing materials to an exporter earning billions and potentially creating thousands of new jobs, the study found.
The hidden value is in the leftover rock and debris post-mining, known as 'tailings.' These waste piles typically get stored on-site and can create environmental hazards if not properly managed.
However, the team found that if recovered, valuable elements such as neodymium and yttrium could be used to make EVs, wind turbines, radars, laser targeting systems, and missiles.
"This is a brand-new view of 'low hanging fruit'," said lead study author Elizabeth Holley. "We show where each critical mineral exists and the sites at which even one percent recovery of a particular critical mineral could make a huge difference, in many cases dramatically reducing or even eliminating the need to import that mineral."
Agreeably, pointed out that just 10 percent of the cobalt lost in these mines could fulfil the entire US demand for electric vehicle batteries and less than 1% of germanium from mining waste could eliminate imports of that mineral.
“It’s like getting salt out of bread dough — we need to do a lot more research, development and policy to make the recovery of these critical minerals economically feasible,” Holley added.
“Ninety percent recovery of by-products from existing domestic metal mining operations could meet nearly all US critical mineral needs,” the paper published in the journal Science concluded. “One percent recovery would substantially reduce import reliance for most elements evaluated.”