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  • Field of dark polymetallic nodules scattered across the seafloor.

    US firms explore seabed metals refining link

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 22, 2025

    New agreement pairs subsea harvesting with domestic REE refining. Under a new agreement to unlock critical minerals from the seafloor, ReElement Technologies Corp. is partnering with Impossible Metals Inc. to evaluate the development of the first fully domestic deep-sea nodule refining program in the United States – pairing advanced midstream processing with autonomous subsea collection systems to deliver high-purity materials essential to clean energy, defense, and i...

  • Three rows of REE separation columns connected with wires and tubes.

    Ucore's rare earths tech enters phase two

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 14, 2025

    Pentagon backs RapidSX tech to secure mission-critical heavy rare earths for defense, EVs, and high-tech. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. and the U.S. Department of Defense have officially launched the second phase of a program to advance the innovative RapidSX rare earths separation technology toward commercial deployment at a new facility in Louisiana – a move aimed at bolstering America's supply of mission-critical heavy rare earth elements. So far, DOD has awarded $22.4 million i...

  • Abandoned mine with caution tape and skull and crossbones sign at entrance.

    MICA funds arsenic-free metals recovery

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 8, 2025

    $200K investment to advance technology that tackles the challenge of arsenic in mineral processing. In Northern Ontario, a small Canadian mining company is turning toxic waste into battery-grade metals using a shipping container-sized chemical system that could rewrite the rules of tailings management in old and new mines alike. Nord Precious Metals has received a $200,000 grant from Canada's Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network to further develop...

  • Three Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors flying in a formation.

    ReElement refines US gallium, terbium

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Jun 24, 2025

    Ultra-pure critical metals recovered from defense scrap. As China tightens its grip on critical minerals, a Purdue-born purification platform is enabling ReElement Technologies to produce ultra-pure terbium and gallium from discarded U.S. defense stockpiles – a leap toward domestic supply chain security for America's high-tech, clean energy, and defense sectors. "Our platform continues to demonstrate unmatched versatility and performance in the global marketplace, enabling u...

  • Image grid with haul truck, copper, salt flats, wild field, lithium pellets.

    Endolith ramps up copper, lithium biomining

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated May 27, 2025

    Rare earth elements might be next for this startup's microbe-assisted technique. Far from the massive machinery and clamor of conventional mines, a team of microbial miners is rewriting the rules of critical metals extraction. Endolith, a biotech startup, has revealed a breakthrough in biomining: using living microbes to unlock copper and lithium from previously overlooked second-rate feedstock. In collaboration with BHP's Think & Act Differently initiative and the Unearthed...

  • Rows of multiple columns connected by pipes and wires in a warehouse setting.

    DOD injects $18.4M into Ucore REE tech

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated May 14, 2025

    Funds full-scale installation of RapidSX for critical rare earth element separation in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Defense is investing $18.4 million to accelerate Ucore Rare Metals' installation of a commercial-scale RapidSX rare earth separation technology capable of producing six of the rare earth elements most critical to the U.S. Developed by Ucore's subsidiary Innovation Metals Corp., RapidSX is a next-generation upgrade to the traditional solvent extraction method...

  • Satellite image of bright blue grid of lithium ponds in featureless brown.

    Precise and sustainable lithium recovery

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 2, 2025

    Scientists have developed a membrane technology that can extract lithium from salt brines using electricity – offering a cleaner, speedier alternative to conventional evaporation ponds. This innovation, led by researchers from the University of Birmingham and collaborators from France and China, addresses the pressing environmental concerns of lithium brine mining – cutting water consumption, minimizing pollution, and enabling greener battery production for powering the ene...

  • Salt nodules on the shoreline of bright blue brine.

    Summit Nanotech secures $25.5M for DLE

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 25, 2025

    Leading company to scale sustainable direct lithium extraction tech. Summit Nanotech has raised $25.5 million to accelerate commercialization of its lithium extraction technology, advancing a solution poised to cut costs amid a volatile global market for the critical battery metal. Founded in 2018 and based in Calgary, Alberta, Summit Nanotech specializes in direct lithium extraction (DLE) for the mining industry. The latest funding round was backed by Evok Innovations, BDC...

  • AI-generated photo of a scoop pouring white lithium powder in a pile.

    A major step toward SW Arkansas lithium

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Mar 20, 2025

    Smackover Lithium completes direct lithium extraction tech trials; begins commercial operations planning. In a major milestone on its path to producing battery-grade lithium from its South West Arkansas project and unlocking the potential of the enormous sea of lithium brines found under the American Southeast, Smackover Lithium has completed the final field test for its direct lithium extraction (DLE) process. Smackover Lithium, a joint venture forged between North American...

  • Artist rendering of the Stardust Power lithium refinery being built in Muskogee.

    Stardust secures lithium extraction tech

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Feb 27, 2025

    Proprietary tech to cut costs, shrink carbon footprint, and produce clean water byproduct. Further advancing its goal of establishing an efficient North American lithium supply chain, Stardust Power Inc. has secured exclusive rights to KMX Technologies Inc.'s lithium extraction and concentration technology. "This exclusive licensing agreement with KMX Technologies is a pivotal step forward in advancing Stardust Power's sustainability and operational efficiency goals," said Sta...

  • Hand-holding ultramafic ore with blue-green coloring.

    Rio Tinto and BHP go in on green iron

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Feb 27, 2025

    Along with BlueScope and Woodside Energy, Western Australia iron ore is on its way to being a world leader when it comes to low-carbon. In the first partnership between Rio Tinto and BHP on a downstream project, the two top iron ore miners and BlueScope, Australia's biggest steelmaker, are teaming up to construct the country's largest groundbreaking low-carbon electric smelting furnace (ESF) at a facility in the Kwinana Industrial Area, south of Perth. The ESF will process...

  • Three rows of columns connected with pipes, wiring and valves.

    Ucore readies RapidSX for copy and paste

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

    Pentagon-backed testing to demonstrate company's rare earths separation tech outperforms its antiquated predecessor. With the backing of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Canadian government, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is making headway toward establishing a North American plant that will deliver a secure supply of the rare earth elements essential to a wide array of household goods, high-tech devices, military hardware, and clean energy technologies. Developing a technology...

  • A pile of blue-green colored nickel sulfate powder.

    Clean battery-grade nickel from BC project

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

    Pilot tests demonstrate that a mine site hydrometallurgical refinery at Baptiste could produce high-quality, low-carbon nickel sulfate. A recently completed pilot-scale program has confirmed the idea that a hydrometallurgical refinery built alongside a mine at FPX Nickel Corp.'s Baptiste project in British Columbia could offer a significant supply of low-carbon battery-grade nickel sulfate for North America's energy transition. "Baptiste would represent an almost 50% increase...

  • Closeup of a programmable logic controller with digital display.

    The tech behind rare earths separation

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

    Computers, programmable logic controllers, and hundreds of sensors automate Ucore's 52-stage RapidSX rare earth separation platform. Behind the secret formulas and innovative methods being developed to separate the tightly interlocked rare earths into individual elements used in a growing array of modern products is another layer of technology that increases the efficiency and reliability of emerging separation technologies. A recent update on the RapidSX separation platform b...

  • Rendering of spinning gold spiral and debris.

    A Revolution for better mine grinding

    K. Warner, Metal Tech News|Updated Jul 23, 2024

    PowerMaster President Haiku York talks with Metal Tech News about the company's Revolution grinding technology for mining. PowerMaster has launched Revolution, a promising environmentally-friendly crushing technology designed to increase efficiency, lower costs, reduce the carbon footprint, and improve safety at mining operations. The PowerMaster Revolution is a gyroscopic grinder designed to efficiently process various materials, from large ore chunks to fine tailings, all...

  • Rows of metallic gold, red, and black battery cells.

    Merging lithium battery supply chains

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

    Talon and Argonne National Lab are working to transform iron waste products from nickel mines into a superior LFP battery cathode material. A mix of battery types is needed for a rapid and sustainable transition to electric vehicles. While lithium-ion batteries with nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathodes will continue to be the main choice for longer-range EVs in North America, lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) offers an alternative for lower-cost cars used primarily for...

  • Innovation Mining logo with representation of gold atoms.

    Innovative solution for stranded gold

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

    EnviroMetal founder launches new company to advance eco-friendly alternative to cyanide for the recovery of gold from small-scale gold mines. When Duane Nelson stepped down from his leadership role at EnviroMetal Technologies, he had a vision of building a new clean-tech company to continue to advance the eco-friendly gold recovery solution that he had helped to develop – Innovation Mining is that company. Formerly known as DynaVat Technologies, Innovation Mining is focused o...

  • Lana Alagha conducting an experiment at Missouri S&T.

    Missouri S&T innovates minerals recovery

    A.J. Roan, Metal Tech News|Updated Apr 23, 2024

    Researcher Lana Alagha received $875,000 from Rio Tinto to explore gallium and germanium recovery from copper waste streams. In a landmark development for critical minerals recovery, global mining company Rio Tinto has granted Missouri University of Science and Technology professor Lana Alagha $875,000 for a two-year project that seeks to pioneer novel techniques for extracting the highly sought after critical minerals gallium and germanium from waste generated in copper...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Periodic table symbol for cobalt, with name and atomic number in electric blue.

    Jervois narrows US cobalt refinery locale

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

    Investigating the advantages of industrial sites in Pennsylvania and Louisiana ahead of final decision. Industrial sites in Pennsylvania and Louisiana are on Jervois Global Ltd.'s short list of locations to build a domestic refining and recycling plant that will help break the United States' dependence on countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and China for cobalt used in the lithium-ion batteries powering electric vehicles. Jervois already owns Idaho Cobalt...

  • An instrument held up to pink and beige bands of underground mineralization.

    US Critical Materials separation tech

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

    USCM is working with INL scientists to develop cutting- edge tech for the separation of rare earths and other critical minerals. Expanding into a critical segment of America's rare earths supply chain, US Critical Materials Corp. is working with Idaho National Laboratory to develop new technologies to separate this suite of notoriously tightly interlocked technology elements. While the United States has no shortage of potential domestic rare earth supplies, and even has one...

  • A pile of goldenrod-colored powder containing mixed rare earth elements.

    Ucore to process Defense Metals REEs

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

    A sample of mixed rare earths from Wicheeda project to be processed through Ucore's RapidSX demo plant in Ontario. In a milestone along the path to establishing a complete rare earth elements supply chain in North America, Defense Metals Corp. will ship a mixed rare earth carbonate sample from its Wicheeda project in British Columbia to Ucore Rare Metals Inc.'s RapidSX REE commercialization and demonstration facility in Ontario for processing. "We expect to ship a mixed rare...

  • Drone view of a pilot-scale mill and gold recovery plant in the Yukon.

    An EnviroMetal gold recovery breakthrough

    Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News|Updated Nov 29, 2023

    Testing over the past three years has shown that EnviroMetal Technologies Inc.'s proprietary formula offers an environmentally sound alternative to cyanide for leaching gold from high-grade ore, concentrates, and recycled electronics. A new breakthrough by the British Columbia-based company could make this non-cyanide gold leaching process an option for operations with lower-grade ore and concentrates. "We are extremely encouraged with our latest breakthrough; it has the...

  • Mine tailings from Newmont Corp.'s Musselwhite Mine in Canada.

    Nextgen miners might include microbes

    K. Warner, For Metal Tech News|Updated Nov 15, 2023

    Each year in Canada, roughly 200 active mines contribute to billions of tons of mining waste. The estimated number of tailing storage facilities surveyed worldwide is over 12,000. While considered industrial waste, these facilities also contain a number of useful minerals at a concentration deemed too low to be worth extracting-until now. Enter biomining, which covers several biological separation technologies offering eco-friendly recovery of valuable and strategic materials...

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