USGS MINE WASTE EFFORTS, PRIORITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES (Invited Presentation)

Critical minerals occur in a wide variety of deposit types that form within larger mineral systems. During mining, critical minerals can either be the primary target commodities or, more commonly, they can be byproducts. If byproduct minerals were not historically economic to extract, they were discarded as mine waste, and thus, remained on the landscape, potentially becoming sources of contaminants. Due to recent increased interest in strengthening the United States’ (U.S.) supply of critical minerals needed for applications in defense, advanced manufacturing, consumer technologies, and renewable energy, mine wastes are now being considered as potential sources of critical minerals. Many legacy mine sites, which currently pose environmental and physical hazards, may contain legacy mine wastes that could prove to be alternative sources of critical minerals. Reclaiming mine waste sites could offer co-benefits for remediation and critical mineral recovery, however, many scientific questions remain, including the location, quantity and composition of mine waste across the nation, the feasibility of recovering critical minerals and other commodities as well as the environmental implications. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is engaging in efforts to improve the nation’s understanding of the endowment of mineral resources contained in energy and mineral mine wastes and the potential environmental impacts and (or) benefits of mineral resource extraction through: 1) acquisition of geochemical, geologic mapping, geophysical, lidar, and remote sensing data, most notably through the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI); 2) development of a mine waste inventory; 3) characterization and analysis of the compositions of mine waste to support assessments of critical mineral endowments; 4) research on ecosystems, environmental effects, and water quality in areas of legacy mine waste; and 5) development of models and tools to make predictions and support decisions on mine reclamation, recovery of critical minerals from mine waste and other land-management decisions. These efforts will have implications for both legacy mine waste and wastes generated during current and future mining.