RARE EARTH ELEMENT (REE) MINERAL MINING
To reach goals of net-zero carbon emissions, we need critical minerals.
Sought after minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and others are used to manufacture products like cell phones, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent lighting, catalytic converters, and more. As demand for these products continues to grow, traditional mining processes can’t keep up.
There are two ways to mine for these minerals: in-situ and ex-situ. Ex-situ mining, or surface mining, is the process of mining shallow mineral deposits by crushing and grinding the rock. In-situ mining, also called in-situ recovery, extracts minerals by circulating mineral-dissolving fluid through permeable pathways deep underground and producing a mineral-rich fluid at the surface.