The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Critical Minerals Alliances 2024


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  • Coin battery cells being held by clamps connected to a diagnostic machine.

    The critical metal of clean energy dreams

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Tellurium devices transform sunlight and heat into electricity. A hot engine and a cool breeze, a cozy living room on a cold winter day, or the warmth of sunshine on your face and the coolness of the earth beneath your feet – there are temperature variations all around. Devices capable of efficiently transforming these thermal dichotomies into clean electricity 24 hours a day without any moving parts would forever change the energy dynamics on Earth. While such a miraculous t...

  • Three fully equipped U.S. Army Green Berets during desert combat training.

    Antimony is high on DOD mineral concerns

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Pentagon turns to Idaho gold mine for a strategic domestic supply of critical metalloid. Falling in the grey area between metals like zinc and nonmetals like carbon, antimony is a semi-metal that possesses some interesting properties that make it a vital ingredient in a wide range of household, industrial, high-tech, and military goods. Despite its widespread uses, many people have never heard of antimony and fewer still realize that this intriguing metalloid is considered...

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

    US looks for domestic gallium sources

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    China dominates global supplies of future-leaning tech metal. With a growing range of unique properties that are being leveraged in next-generation smartphones, shape-shifting robots, and catalysts that scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, gallium is an uncanny tech metal that teeters on the edge of science fiction and science fact. Gallium's unusual properties begin with its 85.6-degree Fahrenheit melting point, which means it is a solid at normal room temperatures but...

  • Closeup of columns filled with colorful liquids for rare earths extraction.

    Making rare earths separation less rare

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Oct 2, 2024

    Separation and processing are the master link of US supply chain. From tech devices such as smartphones and computer monitors to clean energy products like electric vehicles and wind turbines, household goods like vacuum cleaners and refrigerators, and military hardware such as F-35 fighters and communications equipment, rare earths have a critical role to play in nearly every facet of America's economy and security. The United States, however, currently relies on China for ne...

  • Rendering of two bulls fighting, representing periodic elements.

    Vanadium is lightning in a very big bottle

    K. Warner, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Redox flow batteries are just beginning to hit their stride. Although vanadium is an abundant element, it is quite rare in its metallic form. That fact, combined with its position as a strategic metal for industry, national defense, and the green energy transition, has put it squarely on the list of critical minerals. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), "Estimated U.S. apparent consumption of vanadium in 2023 increased by 27% from that in 2022....

  • Soldering iron applying tin to a circuit board for electrical connections.

    A quiet element that sustains modern tech

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Tin is indispensable today and shapes innovation of tomorrow. From $5 flashlightS to multi-million-dollar super computers, virtually all electronics rely on tin, primarily because of its use in soldering. If circuit boards are considered the backbone of technology, then tin-based solder could be seen as the connective tissue that holds the industry together. Despite its fundamental role in the Digital Age, tin is often overshadowed by other critical minerals and contends with...

  • Brilliant firework display with the horizon lit by a line of the sunset.

    Critical titanium is on our doorstep

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Reliance on imports for this white metal could darken days. When people see something pristine white, they often think of it as pure or clean – this imagery is plastered everywhere, from unblemished lab coats to sterilized hospitals. Yet, it may be surprising to know that the rich whiteness seen in many consumer products actually comes from a critical metal, titanium. From the whiteness of milk to the foundation used in makeup, if it is used to lighten or brighten, it most l...

  • A high-definition close-up photo of uranium concentrate or yellowcake.

    U.S. acts to secure domestic uranium supply

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Russian uranium import ban ripples through clean energy sector. With the clock running down on uranium stockpiles, the U.S. faces an urgent need to secure its energy future. New legislation and significant investments are set to revive domestic production of this zero-carbon energy fuel, reduce reliance on foreign imports, and bolster national security –measures that aim to ensure a stable uranium supply for nuclear energy as the country races to meet its demands. In May 2...

  • Gloved hand holding nuggets of nickel.

    Nickel: bringing green tech home

    K. Warner, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Nickel's continuing journey toward clean processes and domestic production. Nickel has a complex relationship with the ongoing energy transition: It provides relatively inexpensive energy density and greater capacity to the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles and storing clean energy, helping to lower the cost of each kilowatt hour. Its properties have been instrumental in untethering the portable electronics we use every day and incorporating clean power...

  • Close-up of EV being charged, with the port and connector in use.

    The clean energy future of platinum metals

    K. Warner, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Indispensable, expensive, and rare – PGMs get a green upgrade. Back in 1950, the first catalytic converter in the United States was a box bolted onto a car's undercarriage to reduce tailpipe emissions. It was patented by French mechanical engineer Eugene Houdry, who was concerned about the effects of automobile exhaust on the good people of Los Angeles. And it would have worked if it had not been for the octane-boosting lead then being added to fuel, which could choke any c...

  • AI-generated image of a pistol frame and various military munitions.

    North America fortifies scandium supply

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Projects, initiatives, and technology expand scandium supply chain security. While it may not have quite as strong a chemical bond to its adopted lanthanide siblings as they do each other, scandium does possess similar enough characteristics and is almost always found at the same geological gatherings (deposits) as the rest of its rare earth family. Named for the Latin word for Scandinavia, "Scandia," – as the mineral was thought to only dwell off the Nordic peninsula – sca...

  • Stacks of aluminum ingots ready for transport.

    Transforming aluminum to transform the world

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Cutting-edge innovations turn aluminum into a cornerstone of the green transition, reshaping technology and the future. Imagine a metal that's as light as it is strong, capable of taking cars further on a single charge and helping planes soar higher with less fuel. Enter aluminum – the unsung hero of the green revolution. This year, aluminum isn't just playing a supporting role in the shift to sustainability; it's stealing the spotlight, driving innovations that are making o...

  • Metallic tree with periodic element cobalt in roots.

    The highs and lows of critical cobalt

    K. Warner, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 26, 2024

    Will the controversial metal find its place in green tech? About 30 years ago, nobody thought much about cobalt. Today, this metal, with myriads of uses, is one of those elements that gets dragged into the spotlight due to the role it plays in electric vehicle batteries, with critics citing the disparity between the environmental and social costs of producing cobalt and the green tech solutions this critical metal enables. But we can't build a clean energy future without...

  • A gold Lucid Air four-door sedan EV at the AMP-1 factory in Arizona.

    Trifecta of graphite disadvantages for US

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 17, 2024

    Rising demand, lack of domestic supply, and China's dominance. While graphite has not captured the same level of media attention as some of the other mined materials critical to the clean energy transition, the strategic nature of this largest ingredient in lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles is high on the list of concerns for American automakers, Washington policymakers, and the Pentagon's top brass. These worries are based on a trifecta of graphite... Full story

  • Up close photo of 3 F-35 fighter jets flying in close formation.

    Critical Minerals Alliances 2024

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    Critical minerals security seen as national security issue. Welcome to Critical Minerals Alliances 2024, the fourth installment of this annual magazine that provides in-depth insights into minerals and metals critical to a robust economy, national security, and the transition to clean energy. For the Data Mine North news team, Critical Minerals Alliances is more than an annual update on the rapidly changing critical minerals markets and policies. From the very beginning, it... Full story

  • A technician sets up fiber optic systems for high-speed data transfer.

    Germanium: the OG Digital Age metalloid

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    Original computer semiconductor now energizes space ambitions. Germanium is a versatile and powerful semiconductor that traces its technology roots back to the dawn of the Digital Age and continues to lend its superlative semiconducting and optical properties to enhancing computers, smartphones, solar panels, fiber optics, and other devices 80 years later. In 1945, Sylvania introduced the first germanium diode to enhance the vacuum tube computers that launched the Digital... Full story

  • A tracked mining machine being lowered into the ocean at sunrise.

    The changing tides of deep-sea mining

    K. Warner, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    Incalculable riches, delicate ecosystem, and the green energy future. Deep-sea mining has captured the world's attention as a uniquely promising source of the metals needed for lithium-ion batteries powering the green energy future and a bitterly controversial topic of debate. Undersea deposits contain quantities of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese sufficient to replace every U.S. car on the road today with an electric vehicle. They also host some of the most diverse, lit... Full story

  • Massive earthen dam holds back red mud tailings at aluminum mine in Brazil.

    Turning waste into wealth in novel ways

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    Federal, private, academic, and public sectors collaborate to find critical minerals through unexpected methods. In the quest for a sustainable and secure supply of critical minerals, North America is turning to unconventional sources that promise to redefine the landscape of resource extraction. As the drive toward a green economy intensifies, innovative methods are emerging to harvest essential minerals through atypical means. These efforts, bolstered by significant... Full story

  • Metal 3D printing creates precise, durable components layer by layer.

    Click print to build a future in the stars

    A.J. Roan, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    From rocket engines to lunar habitats, 3D printing is revolutionizing aerospace, turning dreams into reality. In the not-so-distant past, the idea of constructing a rocket engine or spacecraft components with just the click of a button seemed like pure science fiction. Yet today, 3D printing is rapidly transforming the aerospace industry, turning once-impossible designs into tangible reality, and bringing us closer to the stars than ever before. Aerospace has always been on th... Full story

  • Front of the White House on a spring day in Washington, DC.

    Unlocking America's critical minerals

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 16, 2024

    An all-of-government strategy is beginning to unfold in the US. Over the first two years following the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. Department of Energy has invested billions of dollars into establishing a clean energy supply chain in the United States. These heavy investments, however, have neglected one vital link – the domestic mines needed to supply the processing facilities, battery plants, and other energy t... Full story

  • Fully equipped army soldier enters area with smoke and fire at night.

    DOD invests in mission-critical minerals

    Shane Lasley, Data Mine North|Updated Sep 15, 2024

    Import-reliance a top concern for national security officials. America's heavy reliance on China and others for the minerals and metals critical to the nation's economic competitiveness, military strength, and clean energy future is high on the list of strategic concerns for top brass at the U.S. departments of Defense and Homeland Security. While much of this concern is rooted in the fact that the United States' ability to defend its strategic interests at home and abroad... Full story

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