The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - September 26, 2025
Tailings from legacy mining operations, such as the Yankee Girl silver-gold mine in Colorado, are often enriched with minerals critical to modern technologies.
U.S. Geological Survey staff inspecting a mine waste pile in Copper Flat, New Mexico, one of the states working with the USGS to evaluate critical minerals in mine waste.
The U.S. Geological Survey is investing nearly $3 million into 13 state geological surveys to evaluate critical minerals locked in mine waste – a program that could transform America's legacy tailings piles into strategic resources.
Many of the minerals deemed critical to America's economy and security are scarce and seldom found in high enough geological concentrations to support a mine. However, they are often found alongside other minerals and metals such as copper, zinc, gold, silver, and coal.
Historically, it has been cheaper to import these minor but vital minerals – primarily from China – than to recover them domestically. Rising demand, coupled with resource nationalism abroad, is shifting the economics and elevating the geopolitical urgency of producing these materials in the United States.
These market and political dynamics are reflected in national critical minerals policy, such as executive orders signed by President Trump declaring a national energy emergency and directing expansion of U.S. mineral production.
In response to the White House directives, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued Secretarial Order 3436 – Unlocking Critical and Strategic Minerals from Mine Waste, Cutting Red Tape, and Restoring American Dominance in Strategic Mineral Production – in July.
Among other things, SO 3436 recognizes that recovering critical minerals from mine waste offers both economic and environmental advantages, pairing mineral supply chain resilience with the remediation of lands and waters impacted by past mining.
"The collaboration between USGS and state geological surveys exemplifies how science-driven innovation can transform environmental challenges into strategic resources that bolster our industries and defense capabilities," said Scott Cameron, the acting assistant secretary for water and science at the Department of Interior, which oversees the USGS.
U.S. Geological Survey staff inspecting a mine waste pile in Copper Flat, New Mexico, one of the states working with the USGS to evaluate critical minerals in mine waste.
The order laid the groundwork for USGS to leverage its state partnership under the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, more widely known as Earth MRI, to inventory mine waste and characterize the critical minerals within the tailings and waste piles at U.S. mines.
"The USGS is mapping the critical minerals needed for the U.S. economy and national security across the country. Mine waste from former and active mines is an accessible, aboveground source of those minerals, and these agreements allow the states to collaborate with us on work that's important for the nation – with potential to offset the cost of cleanup, and grow the mineral economy in their states," said Jamey Jones, the Earth MRI science coordinator.
Through its Earth MRI program, USGS is directing nearly $3 million to its counterparts in 13 states to scour databases and historic records, inventory legacy mine waste, and conduct field programs to sample and analyze the minerals present in mine waste.
This work will provide insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with recovering critical minerals from mine waste, while at the same time remediating old mines that operated before the era of modern environmental standards.
By turning waste into wealth, USGS and its state partners aim to strengthen domestic supply chains, reduce reliance on imports, and help clean up America's mining past.
With more than 18 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration, and technology metals.
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