The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
North of 60 Mining News - January 10, 2025
Alaska hosts potentially economic sources of 49 out of the 50 minerals critical to the United States.
Alaska and the Pacific Northwest is one of eight regions that received phase-two CORE-CM funding from DOE.
Aluminum is the only critical mineral not found in Alaska. However, Washington is home to former aluminum mining and processing facilities and bauxite (the primary ore of aluminum) is found in Oregon.
Alaska is enriched with at least 49 out of the 50 minerals critical to America's economy, national security, and energy future. Many of these critical minerals, however, are not found in traditional ore deposits. Instead, they are often found as minor byproducts of more traditionally mined metals such as copper, gold, silver, and zinc or associated with the enormous deposits of coal and other carbon ores found across the 49th State.
To gain a better understanding of The Last Frontier state's potential to be a leading domestic supplier of critical minerals, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) $7.5 million to carry out regional-scale critical minerals assessments across Alaska, as well as the Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon.
The funds awarded to UAF are part of a $45 million investment in critical mineral projects across six U.S. regions, from Alaska to the Appalachian Mountains.
"Rebuilding a domestic supply chain for critical minerals and materials here at home will both safeguard our national security and support the continued development of a clean energy and industrial economy," said Brad Crabtree, assistant secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM).
The six regional-scale programs being supported by the investment marks the start of the second phase of DOE's Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative, which is largely focused on the potential of extracting critical minerals from unconventional feedstocks, such as coal and coal byproducts, wastewater from oil and gas development, and acid mine drainage.
Alaska and the Pacific Northwest is one of eight regions that received phase-two CORE-CM funding from DOE.
While previous CORE-CM work focused on unlocking the critical mineral potential within individual coal basins across Alaska and the continental U.S., the latest round of DOE funding expands the research into unconventional critical mineral sources to the regional scale.
The six CORE-CM regions being explored by the expanded program are: Alaska and the Pacific Northwest (Region 8); Upper Midwest and Illinois Basin (Region 3); Gulf Coast and Permian Basin (Region 5); Rocky Mountains (Region 6); Great Plains and Interior Highlands (Region 4); and Appalachian Mountains (Region 2).
"DOE is investing in collaborative regional projects to help us realize our nation's full potential for recovery of these vital resources, while creating high-wage jobs and delivering environmental benefits for communities across the United States," Crabtree added.
UAF plans to use the $7.5 million in DOE funding provided through FECM, plus another $1.9 million from non-DOE sources, to position CORE-CM Region 8 as a leading domestic supplier of environmentally responsible critical minerals.
One of the first steps in accomplishing the overall regional project mission is to identify and prioritize critical minerals sites across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, which covers roughly 22% of the U.S. but is underexplored for its critical mineral potential.
UAF is working alongside the state geological surveys from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington to carry out this Region 8 critical minerals assessment that will prioritize sites for more detailed studies based on their resource potential, the feasibility of developing these resources into future supplies of economically and environmentally sound critical minerals, and the strategic importance of the minerals identified at the sites.
"This project will unite the three State Geological Surveys, supported by universities and other partners, to analyze this data, collect new data, and begin assessing and characterizing this largely untapped potential," UAF penned in its proposal for the regional funding under DOE's CORE-CM initiative.
The Region 8 critical minerals assessment will involve compiling and analyzing historical geological data; collecting new data from existing samples, such as those stored at the Geological Materials Center in Anchorage, Alaska; and collecting new samples from prospective sites across the region.
The UAF-led CORE-CM team says several mining and mineral exploration companies are also eager to provide samples for critical minerals evaluation under the Region 8 CORE-CM program.
"In Phase 2, we will start characterizing these samples and assist our private sector partners in understanding how to process them economically and environmentally responsibly," UAF penned in its funding proposal. "We will also work to expand partnering opportunities throughout Oregon and Washington while adding new partners in Alaska."
Aluminum is the only critical mineral not found in Alaska. However, Washington is home to former aluminum mining and processing facilities and bauxite (the primary ore of aluminum) is found in Oregon.
UAF's CORE-CM partnership strategy goes beyond working with state geological surveys, academia colleagues, and the mining sector.
One of the primary objectives of the second phase of the Region 8 CORE-CM program is community engagement and early-career workforce development for the burgeoning critical minerals sector in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.
This will involve building a strong consortium of partners across the three states and with neighboring areas to support critical minerals and materials resource development.
UAF plans to develop customized plans to inform communities and Indigenous groups about CORE-CM and keep them up to date on the program's progress. An online portal is also being created where stakeholders can get updates and provide feedback on the Region 8 CORE-CM initiatives.
On the workforce development front, the Region 8 CORE-CM team will work with universities, regional colleges, and vocational schools to develop curricula for a broad range of career paths associated with critical minerals exploration, mining, and processing.
The Region 8 CORE-CM team also plans to develop a Technology Innovation Center (TIC) designed to integrate programs at different regional hub locations that are accessible to stakeholders in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington.
"The TIC will be developed around the unique challenges and opportunities within each state and include key departments focusing on: Research and Development, Industry Collaboration, Environmental Justice and Impact, Education and Outreach, and Administration," UAF wrote.
UAF says the input it gathers by working closely with Indigenous groups, private sector companies, trade schools and universities, national labs, trade groups, environmental organizations, and communities will be crucial to realizing its vision of making Region 8 known for its innovative approach to being an environmentally responsible supplier of the minerals critical to America's economy, security, and clean energy future.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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