A recent study indicates that increasing the recovery rate of critical minerals from mining waste by just 1-4% could significantly cut or even eliminate U.S. import dependencies.

Analysis published in Science shows that the U.S. is already mining all the critical minerals it needs for energy, defense, and technology, but much of these are discarded as tailings during extraction.

These unextracted byproducts could meet nearly all U.S. demand for critical minerals, except for platinum and palladium, highlighting a substantial opportunity for resource recovery.

The waste from U.S. mines could supply enough lithium annually to produce batteries for roughly 10 million electric vehicles, underscoring its importance for clean energy.

Recent policies, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and a 2025 presidential decree, aim to strengthen domestic sourcing of critical minerals to reduce foreign dependence and bolster national security.

Led by Elizabeth Holley of the Colorado School of Mines, the study utilized U.S. mineral production and geochemical data to estimate the quantities of unrecovered critical minerals.

The research reveals that over 70 critical raw materials, such as lithium and manganese, could be recovered from waste material in U.S. mines.

Remarkably, less than 10% of the cobalt mined in the U.S. would be enough to supply the entire electric vehicle battery market, indicating a potential for resource efficiency.

Currently, the U.S. relies heavily on imported critical raw materials like lithium from Australia, Chile, and China, and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising national security concerns.

The analysis suggests that these waste materials could meet nearly all U.S. demand for critical minerals, except for platinum and palladium, reducing reliance on imports.

Experts agree that focusing on resource recovery from waste aligns with ongoing industry discussions, but the feasibility depends on economic and technical factors.

Reprocessing existing mine tailings could significantly cut the need for new mining operations, enhancing resource independence.