The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Articles from the January 8, 2025 edition


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  • Rendering of global map centered with copper periodic table symbol.

    KoBold's AI prospecting secures billions

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 7, 2025

    After successfully discovering copper via machine learning technology, the company has attracted eager investment and notable names. At the end of 2023, KoBold Metals, a software-driven mining startup out of Berkeley, California, made headlines by utilizing machine learning technology to expand its search for lithium across several continents, including projects in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Korea, and Zambia. KoBold's innovative approach utilizes artificial...

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  • Photo of partial northern hemisphere of the Moon in enhanced colors.

    NASA, DARPA boost Moon mining economy

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 7, 2025

    Automated on-site resource utilization will likely be first wave of lucrative off-world industry. NASA's multibillion-dollar Artemis program isn't just about America returning to the Moon or even extended visits – it's also paving the way for lunar resource mining operations, with a lunar economy expected to include mining metals like aluminum, iron, manganese, rare earths, and titanium. But surprisingly, its first product will most likely be mundane by Earth standards – water...

  • Critical minerals and carbon materials from coal flow chart with recycling.

    DOE expands US critical minerals program

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 7, 2025

    Invests $45 million for regional Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) assessment across the nation. To help break America's reliance on imports for many of the minerals critical to the nation's economy and security, the U.S. Department of Energy is investing $45 million into six regional projects from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to the Appalachian Mountain region near the Atlantic coast. "Rebuilding a domestic supply chain for critical minerals and...

  • A large copper heat sink used to cool the CPU in a MAC computer.

    3D printing redefines copper heat sinks

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 7, 2025

    Collaborative project demonstrates the success of advanced generative design software and copper 3D printing, unlocking potential for efficient heat management. Redefining thermal management, ToffeeX, in collaboration with Imperial College London and the University of Wolverhampton, has unveiled a groundbreaking approach to heat sink design through advanced metal 3D printing and cutting-edge modeling software, setting a new benchmark for efficiency in the aerospace and advance...

  • Closeup of hands holding grey-colored drill core from Thacker Pass.

    Lithium for 750 million EVs at Thacker Pass

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 7, 2025

    Northern Nevada lithium project co-owned by GM now hosts enough reserves for 85 years of mining. Lithium Americas and General Motors' Thacker Pass Mine project in Nevada now hosts enough reserves to supply the lithium needed for the batteries to power more than 250 million electric vehicles over the next 85 years. Lithium America President and CEO Jonathan Evans says a new reserve calculation and supporting technical report detailing the plans for an initial 25 years of...

  • Aerial view of a large earthen dam holding red-colored mine tailings.

    BMW funds Phoenix Tailings rare earths

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 6, 2025

    Receives funding to help build sustainable US rare earth supply chain. Backing from BMW i Ventures is allowing Phoenix Tailings to recover 200 metric tons of rare earth metals like neodymium and dysprosium from mine tailings annually, advancing sustainable technology and strengthening U.S. supplies. Working to unlock the immense potential hidden within mine tailings and other waste byproducts, Phoenix Tailings has grown from a backyard project in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into...

  • Mineworkers in hardhats pour water from a stream into a sample bottle.

    Idaho antimony project crosses finish line

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jan 6, 2025

    After eight years of permitting, Perpetua Resources receives major federal authorizations needed to develop Stibnite Mine. "We Did It!" Perpetua Resources Corp.'s three-word response to the U.S. Forest Service's authorization of its plan to build and operate the Stibnite Mine underscores both the significance of this major milestone for gold-antimony project in Idaho and the excitement of finally reaching the finish line after nearly a decade of federal permitting process for...