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  • Michael Vanden Berg at a coal outcrop near Star Point mine.

    Rare earths found in Utah, Colorado mines

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Aug 6, 2024

    High concentrations of REEs occurring near coal could improve domestic supply. "The model is if you're already moving rock, could you move a little more rock for resources towards energy transition?" said co-author Lauren Birgenheier regarding a study of rare earth elements (REEs) found in conjunction with coal-producing regional mines across the Uinta coal belt of Colorado and Utah. This research seeking out alternative sources of rare earths was conducted in partnership...

  • Female scientist at the Karlsruhe Liquid Metal Laboratory in Germany.

    Perfecting liquid metals battery tech

    Rose Ragsdale, For Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    German, US scientists work to commercialize energy storage systems designed to offset fluctuations in renewable power production. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany are developing a high-temperature heat storage system that employs liquid-metal technology to enhance the use of renewable energy sources. Highly conductive liquid metals can be heated to more than 700 degrees Celsius (1,290 degrees Fahrenheit) using green electricity to flexibly...

  • An EV being charged with solar panels and wind turbines in the distance.

    Energy minerals pullback worries IEA

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    International Energy Agency says significant investments are still needed for critical minerals supply to keep pace with clean energy demand. While encouraged by the billions of dollars that has been invested in developing new supplies of the minerals and metals critical to the energy transition, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cautions that the current well-supplied market may not be a good guide for the future of critical minerals. "The world's appetite for...

  • The interior of WEST, a donut-shaped fusion reactor in France.

    Fusion reactors switch to tungsten

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    Materials breakthrough improves the timeline of plasma stability, brings endless energy closer. This month in France, a donut-shaped fusion reactor the size of an eight-foot box called WEST has upgraded from a carbon interior to one made of tungsten, an improvement which successfully contained plasma hotter and longer than ever. Compared to this latest result, our own sun burns at temperatures 30% less while still powering grid-scale systems running on solar panels whose...

  • Closeup of a chunk of manganese ore at a mine.

    A perfect storm for manganese prices

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    Steady demand and Cyclone Megan supply disruptions are giving the metal market its day. The recent uptick in manganese prices resulting from Tropical Cyclone Megan causing significant damage to South32's Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) manganese mine in Australia has prompted Jupiter Mines to release an update on the manganese market landscape, preempting its usual quarterly update. "We are expecting manganese prices to be higher than the historical average for the...

  • Map showing mines, mineral exploration projects, and refineries in Canada.

    Canada expands critical minerals list

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    Adds silicon metal, high-purity iron ore, and phosphorous to 31 materials already on the list. Toward the goal of positioning itself as the "global supplier of choice" for the minerals and metals essential to modern technologies, especially the enormous quantities of raw materials being demanded by a world transitioning to clean energy, Canada has assembled an updated and expanded list of minerals critical to the northern nation. "By updating Canada's Critical Minerals List, w...

  • Stacks of large bins filled with old computers and other e-waste.

    FedEx flips Tennessee e-waste for minerals

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 11, 2024

    Partnership with Pyxera successfully tested a "circular logistics" model to upcycle critical minerals from electronic waste. Following a successful pilot program at the end of last year in Tennessee, FedEx, Pyxera Global, and several other companies have launched the Circular Supply Chain Coalition (CSCC) to boost the domestic supply of critical minerals for new tech hardware in the United States by "mining" discarded consumer electronics. CSCC's vision is to strengthen and ex...

  • A gold-colored rectangular device engraved with the PyroDelta logo.

    RESOLVE to develop First Tellurium tech

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 20, 2024

    Solution-focused NGO agrees to help manufacture and sell tellurium-based thermoelectric generator with green potential. Amongst the rarest of stable elements on the periodic table, tellurium has quietly emerged as a secret ingredient of the clean energy future. This includes serving as a semiconductor in thermoelectric generators – solid-state devices that transform waste heat from vehicle engines and industrial processes into clean electricity. This promising green energy t...

  • The top of a metallic cube with the periodic table information for nickel.

    FPX looks north to the Yukon for nickel

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Jun 11, 2024

    Returns to a Yukon property with the same advantageous nickel mineral as is found at its Baptiste project in B.C. FPX Nickel Corp.'s search for a unique mineral that offers a cleaner source of the nickel that is in high demand due to its use in lithium-ion batteries has led the company back to Canada's Yukon. FPX is best known for its work at Baptiste, an advance-staged exploration project in central British Columbia that shows the potential of being a significant future...

  • View of construction at the Hermosa project in Arizona.

    Domestic manganese for national security

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 30, 2024

    Pentagon awards $20 million to jump-start the production of battery-grade manganese at South32's Hermosa project in Arizona. The Department of Defense (DOD) has announced a $20 million grant awarded via the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) Program to South32, a globally diversified mining and metals company, for accelerating the upcoming Hermosa zinc-manganese project in Arizona. Located in a historic mining district in the Patagonia Mountains, Hermosa was chosen for...

  • Closeup of chunks of uranium concentrate or yellowcake.

    Russian import ban creates nuclear shift

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 30, 2024

    New legislation heralds anticipated domestic nuclear energy transformation. With the signing into law of bipartisan legislation that effectively bans the import of uranium products from Russia, the Biden administration has signaled a monumental shift for America's civil nuclear energy sector. Signed by President Biden on May 14, the bipartisan Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act has finally been enacted into law. "This bill limits the importation of uranium from Russia....

  • An instrument held up against pink- and cream-colored bands of mineralization.

    High-grade gallium, rare earths verified

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 30, 2024

    Idaho National Lab tests Sheep Creek samples; one rock from Montana project contains 17.8% rare earths and 350 ppm* gallium. Recent analysis by Idaho National Laboratories confirms that US Critical Materials Corp.'s Sheep Creek project in southwestern Montana hosts extremely high concentrations of gallium alongside the high-grade rare earth elements found there. "The gallium and rare earth grades, calculated and verified by Idaho National Laboratory, are higher than any that...

  • ABTC employees pose for picture at opening of recycling facility.

    ABTC exceeds battery recycling capacity

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Company ramps up recycling facility, operates at over 115% capacity. In a triumph of innovation, American Battery Technology Company announced a groundbreaking milestone: its lithium-ion battery recycling facility has been operating steadily at over 115% of its designed capacity, showcasing the efficacy of its proprietary recycling technology. Established in 2011, ABTC began its journey with a handful of mining claims out of Nevada. Stemming from a former Tesla employee's ambi...

  • Overhead view of International Battery Metals DLE plant.

    Mobile, modular direct lithium extraction

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    International Battery Metals and US Magnesium agree to install world's first modular DLE plant. This May, International Battery Metals (IBAT) and US Magnesium announced their partnership to install a first-of-its-kind modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) plant that can rapidly be deployed to a site and efficiently extract lithium from a variety of brine resources. The portable, modular design provides both a smaller footprint and scalability. The mobile facility is...

  • Graphic with bubbles depicting hydrogen supply chain against green background.

    DOE to loan Plug $1.7B for green hydrogen

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Funds will be used to build out a complete green hydrogen ecosystem in the U.S.; will create new demand for PGMs. To help support the production of green hydrogen to fuel America's clean energy economy, the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office has conditionally committed to loan Plug Power Inc. $1.66 billion to help finance the construction of up to six domestic hydrogen facilities. "Green hydrogen is an essential driver of industrial decarbonization in the United...

  • A man surveys a tidal habitat in Australian wilderness.

    AU targets critical minerals in hunt

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Latest budget's resource search focuses on battery metals and rare earth elements. Over the coming decade, Australia is prepared to spend A$566 million (US$373 million) to map out deposits of minerals critical to high-tech manufacturing and the green energy transition. "The critical minerals space is one of the reasons why there is so much attention from global and domestic investors, but we need to make sure we can attract and deploy that," Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers...

  • Aerial view of phosphor-gypsum stacks at the Phalaborwa project.

    Billions in rare earths for U.S. at risk

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 24, 2024

    Without investors, the future of South Africa's rare earth elements enriched Phalaborwa site may depend on Washington support. Bordering South Africa's renowned Kruger National Park stands Phalaborwa, a mine sporting two rare earths-enriched phospho-gypsum waste piles that could mean over a billion in critical minerals for the U.S. – if the project can get enough support to run. To challenge China's near monopoly on rare earths, Washington has committed funds to a little-known...

  • US Strategic Metals battery materials recovery facility in Madison County, MO.

    Missouri sparks battery materials collab

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 17, 2024

    Missouri University of Science and Technology, US Strategic Metals; lithium-ion battery precursor cathode active material research. Pioneering a transformative shift in the American battery landscape, US Strategic Metals joins forces with Missouri University of Science and Technology to advance research on precursor cathode active material, leveraging the Show Me State's abundant natural resources and cutting-edge facilities in green innovation. Transforming from humble...

  • A smartphone displaying the EXIM website homepage.

    NioCorp takes step toward $800M U.S. loan

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 15, 2024

    Critical minerals company receives preliminary term sheet for mine financing from EXIM. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has extended an offer to loan NioCorp Developments Ltd. $800 million to help fund the development of Elk Creek, a critical minerals project in Nebraska that would provide a domestic source of niobium, titanium, scandium, and rare earths. "Our goal is to make North America less dependent on foreign suppliers for the critical minerals we...

  • Photo of a splash resulting from a droplet of water into a pond.

    More green hydrogen with less iridium

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech New|Updated May 13, 2024

    Riken researchers have developed a green hydrogen catalyst that reduces the amount of rare and expensive iridium needed by 95%. One of the most elementary chemistry lessons taught to schoolchildren is that water is a molecule made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Now, scholars at the highest level of academics are working to find the most efficient and sustainable means of breaking those hydrogen atoms off of water to produce a green fuel that turns back into...

  • The outside of the UN building located in Geneva, Switzerland.

    UN establishes responsible minerals panel

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    "The objective of the panel ... is to build trust and certainty towards harnessing the potential of these minerals to be utilized to unlock shared prosperity, leaving no one and no place behind." With the growing demand for minerals critical to renewable energy technologies, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has utilized the organization's convening power to unite governments and stakeholders along the entire mineral value chain. The goal: to establish global...

  • A broken hourglass surrounded by pennies and glittering dirt

    Mineral demand surges as mines struggle

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    Despite rising EV sales, miners are unable to finance projects for battery metals. Amidst a green tech boom, fierce global competition is pushing down company margins, and a surprising number of mining industry leaders, like Albemarle, First Quantum Minerals, Glencore, and BHP, are cutting budgets, lowering dividends, and laying off workers. In the U.S., where the Biden administration is pushing to develop a domestic mineral supply but has halted many projects that would meet...

  • Closeup picture of high-quality pure copper cables.

    BHP makes a bid to buy Anglo American

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 8, 2024

    Megamerger would reshape global energy metals sector. The proposed merger between BHP Group Ltd. and Anglo American plc would create a $200 billion mining behemoth that would control 10% of the global production of copper, a metal that has experienced a 23% price spike since early February on supply concerns. "As part of its strategy to expand its copper assets, BHP intends to acquire Anglo American realizing the significant growth potential for copper in the future, as...

  • A scoop pours black graphene onto a pile.

    US graphene to boost Asian solar storage

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 2, 2024

    Volfpack selects HydroGraph graphene for supercapacitors in its hybrid renewable energy storage systems. HydroGraph Clean Power Inc.'s flagship graphene product will soon be a key ingredient in Volfpack Energy Ltd.'s hybrid battery system, which was engineered to help store solar energy and stabilize power grids in Asia. Keeping power grids fed with stable solar is challenging. The best-known and most widely understood of these dilemmas is storing enough energy during the day...

  • Artist’s rendering of electrical discharge between materials.

    Fast-charging sodium hybrid battery

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 29, 2024

    Korean researchers present a high-power sodium-ion battery that can be charged in seconds. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-energy and high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of charging within seconds. Interest in developing batteries based on sodium has taken off due to concerns over the sustainability of lithium, as well as safety concerns due to the combustibility of lithium-ion batteries....

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