USGS receives $5 million in bipartisan infrastructure law funding to study critical minerals and rare earth elements found in mine waste

This $5 million funding opportunity supports the U.S. Geological Survey in establishing a National Mine Waste Inventory and characterizing mine waste across the country. This competitive opportunity is supported by investments in the Earth Mapping Resources program in President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.

The USGS invests $74 million per year in the Earth Mapping Resources Program to modernize the nation’s mapping of potential mineral resources underground and in mine wastes. Through the USGS’s partnership with state geological surveys, the program provides new geologic maps, geochemical sampling, and geophysical, topographic, and hyperspectral surveys. This information will help the nation more accurately identify critical minerals and rare earth elements contained in mine tailings and other mine wastes.

Overall, the bipartisan infrastructure act provides $510.7 million in investments to the USGS to advance scientific innovation and map critical minerals, including funding to accelerate projects in the Earth Mapping Resources Program.

The Earth Mapping Resources Program provides the scientific basis for assessing the potential for extracting valuable minerals from surface mine wastes. The program also supports planning data collection in collaboration with the State Geological Survey and provides funding for the State Geological Survey to participate in the annual Earth Mapping Resources Program planning workshop.

Mine waste is the material left over after mining. It includes tailings, which is the material left after the mined ore has been ground and concentrated, as well as overburden, waste rock and other materials removed to mine the ore.

Some critical mineral commodities, such as rare earth elements, are known to occur with more common minerals such as iron or nickel. Because of this, mine waste sites are now being re-examined to see if the waste may contain critical mineral commodities that were not the primary product when they were originally mined. Understanding what is contained in these wastes can also help identify potential hazards and remediation opportunities from reprocessing mine waste.

For example, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated a legacy zinc mining district in Oklahoma to assess the presence of germanium and its host mineral in mine waste. The results show Weathering of mine waste at the site affected the mobility, bioaccessibility, and recovery potential of germanium.

Interested state geological survey agencies can apply for a grant opportunity number online at GRANTS.GOV G24AS00257. The application deadline is April 2, 2024.

For more information on the Earth Mapping Resource Program, visit hereFor more information on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, visit here.

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