Mining News and Discussions

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Inside the Battle for Top Job that Will Decide the Future of Deep-sea Mining
by Karen McVeigh
July 29, 2024

Introduction:

(The Guardian) Leticia Carvalho is clear what the problem is with the body she hopes to be elected to run: “Trust is broken and leadership is missing.” Later this week, at the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica, nations negotiating rules governing deep-sea mining face a critical vote that could impact the nascent industry for years: who should be the next leader of the regulatory body?

Carvalho, sponsored by Brazil, is in the running against the current secretary general, Michael Lodge, a British lawyer, who is being sponsored by Kiribati, a small Pacific state.

The battle for leadership might sound to the average person like a remote, technical concern. But the election of the authority’s secretary general comes at a pivotal moment for deep-sea mining and therefore for the future of the world’s oceans.

Calls for a pause on exploitation of the seabed are intensifying, with 27 nations now arguing that there is not enough data to begin mining.

If deep-sea mining goes ahead, scientists warn of large-scale, severe and irreversible harm to global ocean ecosystems that are already threatened by the climate and biodiversity crises.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/environmen ... ea-mining

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The Path Toward a More Just and Sustainable Mineral Supply Chain
by Julia Poliscanova
September 15, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) Azure waters and exotic islands are not the only attractions of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique. The province is home to the largest graphite reserve globally, prompting Syrah Resources’ Twigg to open the Balama mine. This is one of the dozen projects across the world chosen by the Minerals Security Partnership to secure and diversify the supply of raw materials.

The energy transition is dependent on critical minerals such as lithium and copper as the world electrifies transport and shifts to renewables. With most minerals currently controlled by China, many western countries are playing catch up. The Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), whose members include Australia, Canada, India, the U.S. and many European countries, is central to this effort.

History is full of not-so-pretty attempts by western nations to capture minerals supply chains, as many living in the Global South know first hand. So how can this partnership offer a truly different value proposition centered on sustainability and deliver truly responsible projects?

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/m ... rtnership

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Low-carbon technologies need far less mining than fossil fuels

September 23, 2024

If we want to build a low-carbon economy, we'll need to mine a lot of different minerals. To build solar panels, we’ll need silicon, nickel, silver, and manganese. We’ll need iron and steel for wind turbines, uranium for nuclear power, and lithium and graphite for batteries.

This raises the concern that a move to clean energy might drive a huge increase in global mining.

It looks this way if you only look at the mining requirements of a low-carbon energy system in isolation. We’ll indeed need to dig out tens to hundreds of millions of tonnes of minerals every year for decades.

But zero mining is not the right baseline to compare it to. The relevant comparison is what we already mine for our current fossil fuel system. The alternative to low-carbon energy is not a zero-energy economy: it’s maintaining the status quo of a system powered mostly by fossil fuels.

When we run the numbers, we find that moving to renewables or nuclear power actually reduces the material requirements for electricity.

https://ourworldindata.org/low-carbon-t ... ssil-fuels

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Big Lithium Plans for Imperial Valley
by Dr. Manuel Pastor and Dr. Chris Benner
September 26, 2024

Introduction:

(The Conversation) Imperial County consistently ranks among the most economically distressed places in California. Its Salton Sea, the state’s biggest and most toxic lake, is an environmental disaster. And the region’s politics have been dominated by a conservative white elite, despite its supermajority Latino population.

The county also happens to be sitting on enough lithium to produce nearly 400 million batteries, sufficient to completely revamp the American auto fleet to electric propulsion. Even better, that lithium could be extracted in a way consistent with broader goals to reduce pollution.

The traditional ways to extract lithium involve either hard rock mining, which generates lots of waste, or large evaporation ponds, which waste a lot of water. In Imperial Valley, companies are pioneering a third method. They are extracting the mineral from the underground briny water brought up during geothermal energy production and then injecting that briny water back into the ground in a closed loop. It promises to yield the cleanest, greenest lithium on the planet.

The hope of a clean energy future has excited investors and public officials so much that the area is being rechristened as “Lithium Valley.”

In a region desperate for jobs and income, the prospect of a “white gold rush” is appealing. Public officials have been working to roll out the red carpet for big investors, including trying to create a clear plan for infrastructure and a quicker permitting process. To get community groups’ support, they are playing up the potential for jobs, including company commitments to hire local workers.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/big-lithiu ... it-238397

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Norway forced to pause plans to mine deep sea in Arctic

Mon 2 Dec 2024 12.35 GMT

The Norwegian government has paused its plans to mine the deep sea in the Arctic, after pressure from a small leftwing party.

The agreement was reached after the Socialist Left (SV) party said it would not support the government’s budget unless it halted the first round of licences for deep-sea mining exploration, planned for the first half of 2025.

“This puts a stop to the plans to start deep-sea mining until the end of the government’s term,” said Kirsti Bergstø, the leader of the SV party.

In January, Norway became the first country in the world to give the go-ahead to commercial deep-sea mining, after parliamentary approval. The coalition government said that while the licences had been suspended preparatory work would still continue, including carrying out an environmental impact assessment and setting regulations.

“This will be a postponement,” the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, from the Labour party, told the private broadcaster TV2 on Sunday.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... ine-arctic



Credit: NOAA/Reuters

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Scientists find huge trove of rare metals needed for clean energy hidden inside toxic coal waste

Fri December 6, 2024

Millions of tons of coal ash left over from burning the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel are sitting in ponds and landfills, able to leach into waterways and pollute soil. But this toxic waste may also be a treasure trove for the rare earth elements needed to propel the world toward clean energy.

Scientists analyzed coal ash from power plants across the United States and found it could contain up to 11 million tons of rare earth elements — nearly eight times the amount the US has in domestic reserves — worth around $8.4 billion, according to recent research led by the University of Texas at Austin.

It offers a huge potential source of domestic rare earth elements without the need for new mining, said Bridget Scanlon, a study author and research professor at UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences. “This really exemplifies the ‘trash to treasure’ mantra,” she said. “We’re basically trying to close the cycle and use waste and recover resources in the waste.”

These so-called rare earths are a cluster of metallic elements, with names like scandium, neodymium and yttrium, which exist in the Earth’s core. They have a critical role in clean technology, including electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

Despite their name, these metals are not rare in nature, but can be hard to extract and separate from the ore that surrounds them such that demand is outpacing supply.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/clim ... index.html



Wade Payne/AP

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Greenland’s melting ice is clearing the way for a mineral ‘gold rush’

Fri, Jan 17 2025

Major ice loss from Greenland is exposing the island’s natural resources, inadvertently making some of the world’s largest untapped critical mineral reserves more accessible.

Greenland, a vast but sparsely populated island situated between the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans, has been transformed by the climate crisis in recent decades.

A major analysis of historic satellite images, published last year by researchers at the U.K.’s University of Leeds, showed that the autonomous Danish territory is turning increasingly green due to human-caused global warming.

The changing environment has seen parts of Greenland’s ice sheet and glaciers replaced by wetlands, areas of shrub and barren rock.

[...]

For mining companies, Greenland’s ice retreat could facilitate the start of a mineral “gold rush.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/17/greenla ... -rush.html

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Examining the Potential Environmental Effects of Mining the World’s Largest Lithium Deposit
February 10, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) DURHAM, N.C. -- The world’s largest known lithium deposit exists within a vast salt pan called the Salar de Uyuni, which stretches for thousands of square miles atop a high, dry Andean plateau in Bolivia. For most of the year, salt crystals encrust the terrain, white as confectioner’s sugar. During the wet season, pooling rainwater mirrors surrounding mountains and sky.

“The Salar is a magical place for travelers from all over the world who come to see the colors, the reflections, in this endless white landscape,” said Avner Vengosh, Nicholas Chair of Environmental Quality at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.

What most tourists don’t see is the vast reserve of lithium dissolved in highly saline, or salty, brine just below their shoes. Contained within sediments and salts that descend a few feet to more than 160 feet below the surface, this untapped trove could potentially be a key resource for the renewable energy sector.

For the past few years, Vengosh, who is also chair of the Division of Earth and Climate Sciences at the Nicholas School, and Ph.D. student Gordon Williams have been working to understand the potential environmental health implications of lithium mining, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Reporting in Environmental Science & Technology Letters in January, the duo conducted the first thorough chemical analysis of wastewater associated with mining the lithium brine at the Salar de Uyuni. Their findings could inform strategies to manage future mining operations more sustainably and protect the fragile salar environment.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1073230

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'Supergiant' Gold Deposit May Be Worth Over U.S. $80 Billion
by Mike McRae
March 18, 2025

Introduction:

(Science Alert) A "supergiant" deposit of high-quality gold ore containing an estimated 1,000 metric tons (1,100 US tons) of the precious metal was discovered in central China in late 2024, according to Chinese state media.

Valued at up to approximately 600 billion yuan or US$83 billion, the discovery could be one of the largest and most lucrative reservoirs of gold ever uncovered, surpassing the 900 metric tons estimated to lie within the mother of all gold reserves, South Deep mine in South Africa.

Some commentators are not yet convinced of the deposit's scale and feasability, but if the discovery becomes verified, it will represent a major find for China.

The Geological Bureau of Hunan Province announced the detection of 40 gold veins within a depth of 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in the northeast Hunan county of Pingjiang.

These alone were thought to contain 300 metric tons of gold, with 3D modeling suggesting additional reserves may be found to a depth of 3 kilometers.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/supergian ... -billion

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A Guide to the 4 Minerals Shaping the World’s Energy Future
by Jake Bittle
March 26, 2025

Introduction:

(Grist) In the decade since the world pledged to combat climate change under the Paris Agreement, global energy systems have undergone a revolution. The United States experienced a sixfold increase in solar power, and wind power more than doubled. And there are now more than 40 million electric vehicles on roads worldwide.

But ending our dependence on fossil fuels and adopting this new, greener technology requires a whole lot of metal.

It takes lithium and cobalt to build the batteries that power electric vehicles and e-bikes, nickel and rare earth elements to construct solar panels and wind turbines, and copper to build the wires that move renewable energy from the sunny and windy places it’s generated to the cities and factories where it’s most needed.

The faster we move away from fossil fuels, the more desperately we will need these metals and other so-called critical minerals. In an ambitious energy transition, global demand for them will quadruple by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. That means digging vast new open-pit mines, building powerful new refineries to distill raw ore, and opening new factories to manufacture batteries and turbines.

Just as the 20th century was defined by the geography of oil, the 21st century could be defined by the new geography of metal — in particular by snarled industrial supply lines that often flow from the developing world to the developed world and back again

Read more of the article here: https://grist.org/energy/critical-mine ... -mining/

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Trees Could be Spying on Illegal Gold Mining Operations in the Amazon Rainforest
April 8, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) For hundreds of years, the Amazon has been exploited for its gold. Today, the precious metal is just as sought after, but the remaining tiny gold particles are much harder to find. Mining often happens in artisanal and small-scale mining operations that release mercury (Hg) into the air, polluting the environment and harming human health.

An international team of researchers has now examined tree rings of species native to the Peruvian Amazon to determine if trees could be used to show approximately where and when atmospheric mercury was released.

“We show that Ficus insipda tree cores can be used as a biomonitor for characterizing the spatial and potentially the temporal footprint of mercury emissions from artisanal gold mining in the neotropics,” said Dr Jacqueline Gerson, an assistant professor in biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Environmental Science. “Trees can provide a widespread and fairly cheap network of biomonitoring, by archiving a record of mercury concentration within tree bolewood.”

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1078196

For a presentation o study results as published in Frontiers in Environmental Science: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/e ... 1800/full

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Trump sparks row with deep-sea mining order

1 hour ago

Donald Trump has signed a controversial executive order aimed at stepping up deep-sea mining within US and in international waters.

Thursday's order is the latest issued by the US president to try to increase America's access to minerals used by the aerospace, green technology and healthcare sectors.

The deep sea contains billions of tonnes of potato-shaped rocks, called polymetallic nodules, which are rich in critical minerals like cobalt and rare earths.

Many other countries and environmental groups oppose deep-sea mining in international waters without further research.

The latest US executive order, external was issued to "establish the United States as a global leader in responsible seabed mineral exploration", it reads.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2v37z333lo

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Top Scientists Call for Permanent Ban on High Seas Exploitation
June 4, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) Extractive activity in international waters - including fishing, seabed mining, and oil and gas exploitation - should be banned forever, according to top scientists.

The high seas, the vast international waters beyond national jurisdiction, remain largely unprotected and are increasingly threatened.

Writing in the journal Nature, Professor Callum Roberts and co-authors argue that stopping all extractive activity in international waters would prevent irreversible damage to marine biodiversity, the climate, and ocean equity.

This would also be a decisive step toward achieving the goal of protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030, as set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in 2022.

“Life in the high seas is vital to the ocean’s ability to store carbon and is too important to lose,” said lead author Professor Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of Exeter and lead researcher with the Convex Seascape Survey. “This paper makes the case that we must stop extractive activities in the high seas permanently, to protect the climate, restore biodiversity and safeguard ocean function for future generations.”

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1085880

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New Lithium Mines Could Cut EU Imports by Half
June 13, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekaleret) The most important mineral in today's electric car batteries is lithium. China completely dominates the market, with no extraction taking place in Europe. However, a new study shows that there is great potential for European lithium production, which would bring improvements in competitiveness, the climate and security. The study also points out that there are complex international trade dependencies that affect supply and demand.

European car manufacturing, which currently accounts for six per cent of the European Union's GDP, risks becoming a thing of the past unless Europe is able to start producing its own electric cars and batteries. Twenty per cent of new cars currently produced in Europe are electric. The EU is aiming to phase out internal combustion engines in vehicles by 2035.

Lithium is the most important mineral in modern electric batteries, which are used in consumer electronics (phones, power tools, watches) and vehicles. Other metals such as cobalt and nickel can be substituted, but not lithium. While research on primarily sodium (salt) is underway, those batteries have lower performance and the path to commercialisation is uncertain. In other words, whoever owns the mining and refining of key metals has a strong hand. It is China who holds those cards.

“The Chinese state has been providing strategic support funding to Chinese green technology companies for many years. The EU has a goal of boosting its own production and may have to do something similar in order to catch up…,” says André Månberger, a researcher and expert on critical metals at Lund University in Sweden.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087402

For a presentation of study results as published in Cell:
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-susta ... ll%3Dtrue

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Lithium-Rich Mineral Found in Only One Place on Earth Has Its Recipe Finally Revealed
by Dr. Alfredo Carpineti
June 13, 2025

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Jadarite is a truly unique mineral. It is rich in lithium, and given our society's hunger for the metal – key to batteries and the energy transition away from fossil fuels – there is a lot of interest in its properties and how it forms. So far, it has been found only in one location on Earth. But scientists have finally worked out how it formed, which might lead to more deposits or better ways to extract it.

In 2004, researchers from the mining group Rio Tinto found this peculiar mineral in Jadar (pronounced "Yadar"), Serbia. Its chemical formula showed that it was a sodium lithium borosilicate hydroxide, which had no matches in the scientific literature. It was a new mineral, although its chemical formula had already been used in fiction: it was the kryptonite from the movie Superman Returns.

It is not as pretty as kryptonite; it doesn’t glow green and it is not radioactive. But the deposit in Jadar has enough lithium to make batteries for up to 90 percent of the European electric vehicles expected to get on the road in the coming decades. The extraction of this mineral is a complex political quagmire between Serbia and the European Union.

Researchers now know the very precise steps for the formation of jadarite, and it is unsurprising that it is rare. The conditions are hyper-specific. You need to have lithium-rich volcanic glass, alkaline-rich terminal lakes, and clay minerals turning into crystalline structures. These specific chemical changes are all extremely rare.

Additional extract:

“As the demand for lithium continues in the race toward renewable energy, if mined, jadarite can offer huge potential. This process brings us closer to identifying other possible deposits by unravelling the formation conditions in the lab,” added Dr Robin Armstrong, geologist at the Museum and co-author on the paper.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/lithium-ric ... ed-79613

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First U.S. Rare Earth Mine In 70 Years Opens In Wyoming

July 12, 2025

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright touted the importance of coal and Wyoming on Friday at the ribbon cutting for Brook Mine, the first U.S. rare earth mine in 70 years and the state’s first new coal mine in decades.

He said developments like the Brook Mine are critical for breaking U.S. dependence on China for supplying the critical minerals used in everything from fighter jets to wind turbines.

Speaking to about 220 people gathered at Ramaco Resources' facility between Ranchester and Sheridan, Wright said it’s time for America to dominate rare earth development.

“Anything in your life that has a button, you start your car with the button or your dishwasher or your refrigerator, your washing machine, your F-35 fighter jet — all of those things have rare earth elements playing a critical role in the design and the operation of those products,” he said. “It's an industry that infiltrates everything with a button, which in a modern world is almost everything.”

The ceremony marked the opening of not only the first new rare earth element mine on American soil in more than seven decades, but also the first new coal mine in Wyoming in nearly 50 years.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/07/11 ... n-wyoming/

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A Huge Cache of Critical Minerals Found in Utah May be the Largest in the U.S.
By Leia Larsen
December 12, 2025

Introduction:

(Grist) A Utah company says it has unearthed a massive deposit of minerals crucial for building electric vehicles, semiconductors, satellites, magnets, and more.

Ionic Minerals Technology, or Ionic MT, found its Silicon Ridge mine is chock-full of critical minerals and rare earth elements. According to Andre Zeitoun, Ionic MT’s CEO and founder, the newly discovered supply could support initiatives to electrify transportation and bolster defense, all while reducing dependence on foreign markets.

Silicon Ridge’s deposit of critical and rare earth minerals is suspended in clay, not hard rock, making it easier to extract. The clay holds 16 critical minerals, Zeitoun said, including gallium and germanium, used in electronics, fiber-optic cables, and lasers. The mine holds a large supply of halloysite, a mineral used to build better batteries. China by far produces the lion’s share of critical minerals, and when it recently restricted exports on them, U.S. companies were sent scrambling for new supplies.

“Over the last 20 years, [we’ve] kind of put ourselves in a situation,” Zeitoun said, “where we’ve allowed ourselves to be solely reliant on imports of these metals that power our lives.”

The discovery at Silicon Ridge could open the door to finding more rare earths throughout Utah, said Katie Potter, a professional geologist and professor of practice at Utah State University.

Read more here: https://grist.org/energy/utah-mine-cri ... re-earths/

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What Changed for Deep-sea Mining in 2025? Everything.
By Anita Hofschneider
December 22 , 2025

Introduction:

(Grist) For more than a decade, The Metals Company has poured millions of dollars into researching and developing technology for mining seafloors at extreme depths, funding scientific studies to evaluate the environmental impact, and persuading investors and political leaders to support their vision of scraping minerals like cobalt and copper from the ocean floor.

In 2021, the company went public, opening at $11.05 per share. Then its stock plummeted as global regulators debated what rules to impose on sea bed mining, hitting $0.55 a share at its lowest point. Last week, the company’s stock was back up to $7.89, a tenfold increase over a single year despite large, continual losses and no ability to profit from selling minerals until at least late 2027 due to pending permits.

“We see a path for this stock to continue to perform very well,” said Craig Shesky, the company’s chief financial officer, to investors at a virtual conference this month. “We are sitting really in the eye of the storm when it comes to what the U.S. needs to do to diversify supply chains for these metals away from China.”

The dramatic rise reflects how the still-unprofitable seabed mining industry catapulted forward in 2025, driven by President Donald Trump’s eagerness to cement American dominance of critical minerals, his disregard for international norms, and his willingness to override the concerns of scientists and Indigenous Pacific peoples alike.

Manganese, cobalt, copper, and nickel are among what the U.S. calls “critical minerals” necessary to create batteries for consumer goods like cell phones and electric cars, and military technologies like missiles, fighter jets, and tanks. The U.S. currently gets most of its critical minerals from China, something Trump is eager to change. Industry players argue that mining the seafloor is necessary to help the world transition away from its reliance on fossil fuels to combat climate change, but scientists say that we know too little about the potential environmental damage from mining, and that disturbing the sea floor might release more carbon into the atmosphere.

Read more here: https://grist.org/global-indigenous-af ... rything/