Increasing U.S. Production of Rare Earth Elements

States’ production of rare earth metals and critical minerals, which will help rebuild our supply chain and decrease our dependence on China. Importantly, these projects will also create new jobs and spur economic growth for communities in the Uintah Basin,” said U.S. Senator Mitt Romney.

“The work at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research has led to exciting breakthroughs in tapping sources of the rare earth minerals so integral to modern technology, used in everything from advanced batteries to smartphones,” said U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith. “DOE’s award advances research that could support jobs in Appalachia and shore up supply chains vital to our country’s security and economic growth.”

Selected projects fall under 12 areas of interest, corresponding to the selected U.S. basins that have the potential to produce rare earth elements and critical minerals.

·  Appalachian Basin — North (Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia): Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania) aims to assess and catalog Northern Appalachian Basin rare earth elements and critical minerals resources and waste streams, develop strategies to recover minerals from these streams, and assess the infrastructure, industries and businesses in the Northern Appalachian Basin to determine supply chain gaps. DOE Funding: $1,204,129
·  Appalachian Basin — Central (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia): Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia). The Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech plans to promote regional economic growth and foster new job creation by accelerating the extraction and processing of rare earth elements and critical minerals resources from coal, coal sediments, coal ash, coal refuse and impoundments, acid mine drainage and other basin-specific resources in the Central Appalachian region. DOE Funding: $1,499,999
·  Appalachian Basin — South (Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee): Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (Knoxville, Tennessee) aims to develop and deploy new technologies for manufacturing rare earth elements, critical minerals and valuable non-fuel, carbon-based products from coal and/or coal waste in the South Appalachian Basin, thus revitalizing distressed South Appalachian coal communities, reducing reliance on foreign imports, and creating advanced manufacturing jobs producing coal-derived products. DOE Funding: $1,499,997
·  San Juan River-Raton-Black Mesa Basin (Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico): New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (Socorro, New Mexico) plans to determine the rare earth elements and critical minerals resource potential in coal and related stratigraphic units in the San Juan and Raton basins in New Mexico. DOE Funding: $1,483,787
·  Illinois Basin (Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee): Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Champaign, Illinois) aims to lead a project