The US extracts critical minerals from tailings and abandoned mines

According to a report from Mining.com, in an effort to reduce external dependence and strengthen domestic production, the US government has recently attempted to extract high-value critical minerals, including rare earths, lithium, cobalt, and uranium, from tailings and abandoned mines.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has ordered a revision of a series of regulations to simplify federal oversight and expedite project approvals, aiming to recover minerals from coal reuse, tailings, and closed uranium mines.

This order includes updating guidelines to enable these recycling projects to receive federal funding support and requires expedited review of proposed projects. Burgum has also ordered the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to map and inventory mineral tailings on federal lands and screen for sites rich in critical minerals.

Researchers from the USGS and state geological surveys have already discovered extensive mineral sources, including tellurium in the tailings of the Bingham Canyon copper mine in Utah, and zinc and germanium in the long-abandoned Tar Creek tailings in Oklahoma.

Rare earth elements have also been found in the clay of coal seams in the Appalachian and Illinois basins.

"This initiative underscores our unwavering commitment to achieving mineral independence and ensuring the United States' preeminence in advanced technologies that power our future," Burgum said in a press release. His department, which controls vast tracts of federal land, some of which are home to abandoned mines, aims to transform environmental losses into economic advantages.

Adam Suess, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, added that accelerating the recycling of critical minerals from tailings would help "fully tap into the potential of the United States' mineral resources and promote national security and economic growth."

This move is part of implementing Trump's strategy to revitalize the US mining industry. The United States has already fallen behind in the extraction and processing of critical minerals. In March, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to expedite the domestic processing of several critical minerals.