US awards $162M to turn mining waste into critical minerals

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected nine projects to receive a combined $162 million to advance the recovery of critical minerals, materials and other valuable byproducts from industrial feedstocks.

The projects, selected by the DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, will focus on recovering materials including scandium, copper, antimony and rare earth elements at bench- and pilot-scale facilities.

The initiative forms part of the nearly $1 billion announced by the DOE in August 2025 to advance mining, processing and manufacturing technologies across critical minerals and materials supply chains.

DOE said the investments are intended to strengthen domestic critical mineral supply chains and support the development of technologies needed for the energy, defence and manufacturing sectors.

“Leveraging existing bench-scale and pilot-scale facilities is a vital opportunity to produce critical materials necessary for our energy, defense, and economic security,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said.

The nine projects fall under Topic Area 2 of the Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials at Domestic Industrial Facilities funding opportunity.

Four projects were selected under Topic Area 2a, which targets technologies previously developed at bench scale. They are Anactisis Inc., Still Bright Inc., Nusano Inc. and SiTration Inc.

The projects are expected to advance their technology readiness levels from 4 or 5 to 7, moving technologies from laboratory development toward prototype demonstration.

Five additional projects were selected under Topic Area 2b, covering technologies with previous pilot-scale development. They are Thompson Creek Metals Company USA, Felix Gold Alaska Treasure Creek Inc., DISA Technologies Inc., Alcoa USA Corp. and Trigg Minerals.

These projects are expected to advance technologies from readiness levels 6 or 7 to levels 7 or 8, moving them from prototype development toward pre-commercial demonstration.

The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage the nine selected projects.

The latest selections follow other DOE initiatives targeting critical minerals recovery, including a $75 million programme focused on coal-based feedstocks and a $134 million Rare Earth Elements Demonstration Facility Programme.

The DOE clarified that selection for award negotiations does not constitute a commitment to provide funding. Final award amounts will be determined through negotiations, and the department may cancel negotiations or rescind selections before funding is issued.