The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Articles written by Shane Lasley


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  • Nevada high-desert framed by a lithium-boron mineralized outcrop.

    Nevada lithium project passes milestone

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    BLM completes draft EIS for Rhyolite Ridge, closing in on final federal permitting decision for energy transition metals mine. Marking a major milestone on the path toward a domestic supply of lithium for nearly 370,000 electric vehicles per year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has finalized a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for developing a mine at Ioneer Ltd.'s Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. "This news sets a clear path forward to...

  • Dignitaries shake hands after signing an international agreement.

    Saskatchewan critical mineral partnerships

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    Canadian province signs strategic minerals partnership with France; Saskatchewan Research Council secures rare earths feedstock for Saskatoon processing plant. Saskatchewan's strategy to become a North American hub for the minerals and metals critical to clean energy and other future-leaning technologies was bolstered by two agreements signed on Monday. The first agreement was a letter of intent signed with France to explore, develop, and cooperate on new strategic mineral...

  • View of the colorful Perth cityscape from a walkway looking over a river.

    Seeding a global mining tech hub in Perth

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 2024

    Rio Tinto invests in tech startups, partners with Founders Factory to help establish Western Australia as Silicon Valley of mining tech. Global mining company Rio Tinto has teamed up with world-leading venture studio and start-up investor Founders Factory to help establish the city of Perth on Australia's west coast as the Silicon Valley of mining technologies. As the capital of Western Australia, one of the most productive and diversified mining regions in the world, Perth... Full story

  • Closeup picture of high-quality pure copper cables.

    BHP makes a bid to buy Anglo American

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 25, 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... Full story

  • Hydrogen symbol over a satellite view of North America at night.

    Is geological hydrogen dead or alive?

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 23, 2024

    With $20 million in DOE funding, MIT and 15 others are carrying out research that will open Schrödinger's box of potentially low-cost source of abundant green energy fuel. Hydrogen is the Schrödinger's Cat of clean energy fuels – it is both an abundant and affordable clean burning gas that fuels the dreams of a green energy future and a scarce element that comes with a carbon footprint that does not justify the cost to produce it. The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Res... Full story

  • Front view of an electric Epiroc underground mine truck connected to a trolley.

    Trolley helps electrify underground mining

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 22, 2024

    Zero-carbon underground mines of the future take step closer to reality with first electric truck trolley system. Boliden, Epiroc, and ABB are each known for pushing the envelope of mining innovation and electrification. Now, these companies have pooled their expertise into installing the first fully battery-electric truck underground trolley system on an 800-meter-long test track within Boliden's Kristineberg mine in northern Sweden. "Over the past three years, we have... Full story

  • AI rendering of a satellite orbiting over Earth.

    Satellite subscription service for miners

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 18, 2024

    Hypervine launches a service that allows users to receive unlimited satellite surveys and reports for a low monthly fee. From gaining a detailed overhead view of the predevelopment landscape to grabbing a snapshot of current conditions and monitoring changes over time, satellite imagery is revolutionizing the planning and operations of modern mines. However, the cost for a satellite to take a snapshot of a mine can be high, and many traditional technologies cannot image the gr... Full story

  • SpaceX Bandwagon-1 Mission launch at T-plus-two-seconds with telemetry.

    Fleet Space mineral exploration rockets

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 16, 2024

    Centauri-6 delivers upgrades and optimizations to constellation of satellites that enable Fleet Space's ExoSphere mineral exploration tech. The payload of SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 7 included a next-generation Centauri-6 satellite that will upgrade and expand upon Fleet Space Technologies' constellation of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites that are playing a vital role in exploring Earth for the minerals needed for the clean... Full story

  • Two men in safety gear collect water samples from a stream.

    US offers $1.8B loan for antimony mine

    Shane Lasley|Updated Apr 8, 2024

    Perpetua Resources receives Stibnite Gold Mine debt financing letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has extended an offer to loan Perpetua Resources Corp. $1.8 billion to fund the development of a mine at Stibnite Gold, which would round out an all-of-government effort to establish the historic project in Idaho as a future domestic source of antimony critical to America's economic and national... Full story

  • A vial of gold being held above a pile of discarded circuit boards.

    Extracting green gold, PGMs from waste

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 5, 2024

    Researchers develop a highly efficient and selective method of extracting precious metals from e-waste, catalytic converters, and ore. Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a cleaner and more efficient method of recovering gold and platinum group metals (PGMs) from electronic waste and other discarded materials. Even though it costs anywhere from $925 to $4,500 to buy just one ounce of these precious metals, gold and PGMs have special... Full story

  • Computer rending of large wheel lifting and dumping ore buckets.

    EcoHoist mine tech draws ABB expertise

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

    Global mine electrification and hoisting leader is helping accelerate the commercialization of an innovative underground ore hauling solution. The team behind Economical Energy's innovative Viper underground gravity battery for renewable energy storage has now launched an equally innovative solution for the vertical transport of material out of underground mines. The new Australian startup, EcoHoist, is on a mission to decarbonize underground mines by replacing the trucks... Full story

  • Professors Ukar and Larson in front of a University of Texas building.

    Squeezing hydrogen out of iron-rich rocks

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

    University of Texas researchers are exploring the potential to catalyze geological hydrogen with nickel or PGMs. Hydrogen is a highly combustible gas that only emits water into the atmosphere when it is burned, making it an ideal fuel for the clean energy future. This green fuel, however, has the paradoxical distinction of being the most abundant element in the universe but extremely scarce in its pure form here on Earth. Hydrogen's abundance enigma that stems from the gas'... Full story

  • A pile of bluish silver lead bars stamped with “Doe Run.”

    DOD invests in Missouri battery metals

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

    Pentagon awards Doe Run $7 million to help scale up a cobalt and nickel processing plant in The Show-Me State. As part of a larger objective to ensure the United States has reliable domestic supplies of the minerals and metals critical to the nation's economy and security, the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded The Doe Run Resources Corp. $7 million to complete a demonstration-scale hydrometallurgical plant for separation of cobalt and nickel at their facility in...

  • Outside of a newly built manufacturing plant with landscaping being carried out.

    MP awarded $58.5M for REE magnet plant

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 1, 2024

    Will use federal funds to establish the first fully integrated mine-to-magnets rare earths supply chain in the U.S. In support of the development of a complete mines-to-magnets rare earths supply chain in the United States, the Department of Energy has awarded MP Materials $58.5 million to help build a fully integrated rare earths metals and magnet plant in Texas. MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass Mine in California's Mojave Desert, is already a major global produ... Full story

  • A battery cutout with a voltage symbol being held up to an orange sunset.

    Graphite One selects Ohio for refinery

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

    Secures former critical minerals stockpile site to build graphite processing and battery materials recycling plant. Graphite One Inc. plans to transform a former national defense critical minerals stockpile site in Ohio into a domestic source of the graphite anode material going into the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. "Graphite One is delighted to announce that, subject to financing, we will be building our advanced graphite... Full story

  • Neon green tree sap from a notch in a tree is drawn into a narrow glass tube.

    DOE explores nickel farming concept

    Shane Lasley, Mining News|Updated Mar 29, 2024

    Invests $10 million for PHYTOMINES, a project to investigate the potential of using hyperaccumulating plants to draw nickel from soil. Will we soon be able to farm some of the nickel needed for lithium-ion batteries? The U.S. Department of Energy is investing $10 million to find out. The idea of using plants to extract nickel from soil is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Researchers have identified plants in Malaysia known as hyperaccumulators that thrive in nickel-rich env...

  • Closeup of silver-colored gallium in its crystallized form.

    High-grade gallium confirmed in Montana

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 27, 2024

    US Critical Materials identifies outstanding gallium grades with the high-grade rare earths at its Sheep Creek project. In addition to showing promise as a high-grade domestic source of rare earths, US Critical Materials Corp.'s Sheep Creek project in Montana shows the potential to be an equally high-grade alternative to China for the gallium used in a wide array of high-tech, green energy, and military applications. "US Critical Materials looks forward to being the primary...

  • A frost-covered magnet cube floats above a black superconductor disc.

    Super-rare superconductor mineral found

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 27, 2024

    Ames Lab scientists confirm the first ever unconventional superconductor found in nature. Scientists at the Ames National Laboratory in Iowa have made a world's first discovery – a naturally occurring mineral with superconducting properties similar to the high-temperature superconductors that could revolutionize energy, transportation, and electronics. Superconductive materials can conduct electricity without energy loss. Scientists have already created superconductors in the...

  • BluVeinXL charging system connecting large mining truck to blue e-rail.

    Charging the future e-mine with BluVein

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

    Aussie tech company develops innovative on-the-go charging system for electric mining trucks; collaborating with Hitachi Energy to enhance system. The quest for net-zero carbon emissions has mining companies and heavy equipment manufacturers brainstorming on innovative ways to electrify mining trucks often designed to haul hundreds of tons of rock per load. A dynamic charging system developed by Australia-based BluVein offers a solution that can be retrofitted to all brands...

  • Closeup of an Exyn drone equipped with lidar survey equipment.

    Exyn mapping tech put to the test at Pogo

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Mar 20, 2024

    Recent study shows Exyn drones more safely collect higher quality survey data in half the time compared to traditional mine mapping methods. Exyn Technologies' drone-based mapping system is faster, more accurate, and infinitely safer than traditional underground mine surveying technologies, according to a recent study completed at Northern Star Resources Ltd.'s Pogo gold mine in Alaska. "[T]he data doesn't even compare," said Andrew Loomes, chief mine surveyor at Pogo. Exyn...

  • An AI representation of quantum computing with electronic structures in globes.

    Quantum computing quest lands on rare earth

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 18, 2024

    Materials scientists identified europium as an ideal element for a new material that is a strong candidate for use in quantum memory. Pioneering into the frontiers of technology has scientists venturing deeper into the periodic table to discover elements with properties required for tomorrow's innovations. This is especially true for quantum computers and networks, which demand very specific and unique attributes that require a scientific expedition into unexplored chemical re... Full story

  • Semi-truck cab painted with Metallica’s '72 season album-inspired graphics.

    A Metallica catalyst for Iveco fuel cells

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 18, 2024

    Iconic heavy metal band will use electric trucks produced by Italian automaker on European leg of 2024 tour. In what may be the perfect metaphor for the heavy metal needed as a catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells, Italian automaker Iveco is providing electric and natural gas trucks and busses to transport crew and gear during the European leg of Metallica's M72 World Tour. Representing the environmental and social values embraced by both the legendary heavy metal rock band and... Full story

  • Image of a Fleet Space nanosatellite over Earth.

    Space-based mineral exploration upgrade

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 13, 2024

    New machine learning enhancements make ExoSphere faster and more powerful than ever; Fleet Space joins Stanford's Mineral-X program Already a powerful tool that is being leveraged by global mining companies such as Rio Tinto and Barrick Gold Corp. to discover mineral deposits hidden below the earth's surface, Fleet Space Technologies' satellite-enabled ExoSphere is now more powerful and faster than ever thanks to the introduction of machine learning. First introduced in 2022,...

  • Piles of black, white, grey, and yellow rare earth oxide powders.

    USA Rare Earth secures magnet feedstock

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 12, 2024

    Enters into agreement with ReElement for a domestic supply of rare earths for its magnet plant in Oklahoma. In a move that will begin to establish a circular and domestic supply chain for the powerful magnets used in electric vehicle motors, USA Rare Earth LLC has signed a deal to buy ultra-pure rare earth elements (REE) produced from ReElement Technologies Corp.'s state-of-the-art rare earths and battery metals refining facility in Indiana. "We are thrilled to be working...

  • A drone flies by a mountain shrouded in clouds.

    Quantum leap for mineral exploration

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 12, 2024

    SBQuantum and Silicon Microgravity merge cutting-edge geophysics tech into a single drone-mounted platform. The world's first diamond quantum magnetometers, a disruptive gravity sensor technology, are being combined with drones into a platform aimed at accelerating the discovery of minerals and metals critical to the high-tech and green energy future. "We'll be combining two key geophysical surveying methods, gravimetry and magnetics, to quickly identify promising mineral...

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