US Mines Sitting on Treasure Trove of Critical Minerals

According to a study published on August 19, 2025, the United States could significantly reduce its reliance on China for critical minerals if it made better use of the waste from existing American mines. The researchers from the Colorado School of Mines found that the US has sufficient domestic mineral resources to meet much of its manufacturing demand for metals like copper, lithium, and nickel.

Currently, China has dominated the global supply chains for many critical minerals, leading the Trump administration to impose tariffs in a bid to encourage domestic US production. However, the new analysis suggests the solution may lie in the waste from the 54 active mining operations across the country.

The researchers state that recovering even small quantities of the byproducts from these mines "would substantially reduce net import reliance for most critical minerals." In fact, for 15 elements, including rare earths, less than 1% of the potential byproducts could replace US imports. For another 11 minerals, including lithium, recovering between 1-10% of the waste would be enough.

The researchers emphasize that the US' vulnerable supply of critical minerals is not due to a lack of domestic geological resources, but rather the failure to utilize existing mining waste. They argue that "US metal mines already have sufficient mineral endowment to substantially reduce the nation's mineral deficit," but these byproducts currently "contribute to the country's growing industrial waste."