PROJECT SELECTIONS FOR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 3077: REGIONAL SCALE COLLABORATION TO FACILITATE A DOMESTIC CRITICAL MINERALS FUTURE: CARBON ORE, RARE EARTH, AND CRITICAL MINERALS (CORE-CM) INITIATIVE – ROUND 1
Northwest Region CORE-CM Project — University of Alaska Fairbanks (Fairbanks, Alaska) intends to work with three state geological surveys from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, supported by universities and other partners, to perform new data collection and analysis, geologic and mineral systems mapping, sample collection, and characterization (e.g., geochemistry, mineralogy, geochronology) to better understand the geologic framework and critical minerals and materials distribution and associations. Collectively, the Northwest region covers roughly 22% of the United States and contains underexplored mineral resource deposits. The first objective of this project is to assess, identify, and prioritize sites for detailed investigation in the region based on resource potential, feasibility, and strategic importance. A key outcome will be a regional assessment supporting the Department of Energy (DOE)’s efforts to develop a nationwide critical mineral and materials prospectus. The second objective is to engage communities in the work and educate an early-career workforce for the growing critical minerals and materials industry. 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.
DOE Funding: $7,500,000
Non-DOE Funding: $ 1,875,001
Total Value: $9,375,001
Upper Midwest & Illinois Basin Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Mineral Initiative— University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Champaign, Illinois), through the Illinois State Geological Survey, plans to work with the geological surveys of Michigan, Kentucky, Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio; major universities such as the University of Illinois, the University of North Dakota and the University of Kentucky; DOE’s national laboratories; and companies active in the critical minerals and materials, energy, and environmental spaces to build understanding and the economic case for the development of critical minerals and materials from coal and coal wastes in the Upper Midwest. This project will address its goals through three main research areas: a characterization campaign; infrastructure studies and social development initiatives. The characterization campaign will focus on understanding existing secondary (e.g. brine groundwaters and metalliferous shales) and unconventional (e.g. mine wastes and coal combustion residuals) sources of critical minerals and materials and preparing quantitative estimates of critical minerals and materials and coal for those sources. The project will capture prior research and literature, perform extensive sampling, and apply detailed geochemical analysis to understand critical minerals and materials and coal in the region.
DOE Funding: $7,500,000
Non-DOE Funding: $ 1,886,784
Total Value: $9,386,784
Developing a Regional Evaluation and Assessment of critical Minerals – Gulf Coast and Permian Basin — University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) plans to catalyze economic growth and job creation by identifying resource potential in the Gulf Coast and Permian Basin areas. The project will characterize and assess critical mineral and material resource potential in petroleum industry waste; produced water and subsurface brines; coal (primarily lignite); coal ash and other coal mine related waste; other non-fuel mine and processing waste (e.g., red mud from bauxite processing); sedimentary rocks; drill cuttings; and other subsurface rock material with critical mineral and material potential. Additional objectives include linking these mineral resources to manufacturing of valuable products to enhance economic growth and job creation, planning the development of technology innovation centers, and stakeholder outreach and education to support economic workforce development.
DOE Funding: $7,499,999
Non-DOE Funding: $ 1,875,000
Total Value: $9,374,999
Assessment, Characterization, and Planning for Carbon Ore and Critical Minerals/Materials Resources Utilization in the Rocky Mountain Region — University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah) intends to evaluate regional carbon and critical mineral and material resources associated with coal-related materials, sedimentary-hosted minerals, waste-related materials, and other potential value-added materials; assess and characterize coal and critical mineral and material resources to determine the potential of critical mineral and material resources in the Rocky Mountain region; share resulting data through the DOE Energy Data Exchange database; develop plans addressing regional strategies for business commercialization, workforce readiness, technology assessments, stakeholder outreach, energy equity and justice, ongoing energy transformation, and community impacts; develop a roadmap for technology innovation centers; and coordinate research efforts with CORE-CM regional efforts, DOE–NETL working groups, and the Critical Materials Collaborative.
DOE Funding: $7,500,000
Non-DOE Funding: $ 2,098,204
Total Value: $9,598,204
Great Plains and Interior Highlands CORE-CM: Developing a Nexus of Carbon Ore & Critical Mineral Resources, Technology Innovation, and Communities of the Future — University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyoming) intends to address CORE-CM Initiative goals of catalyzing regional economic growth and resource security by developing domestic supply chains that use secondary and unconventional critical mineral resources. This project will assess the Great Plains and Interior Highlands, which consists of ten states and four basins first studied as part of the CORE-CM Initiative Phase I. The project team and supporting stakeholder consortium will develop, document, and initiate plans toward developing a nexus of CORE-CM resources, technology innovation centers, and communities of the future within the Great Plains and Interior Highlands of the United States. This effort will contribute to the meaningful development of diverse, domestic critical mineral supply chains.
DOE Funding: $7,500,000
Non-DOE Funding: $2,676,484
Total Value: $10,176,484
Expand Appalachia CORE-CM — Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia) plans to lead a consortium of academic institutions, research laboratories, federal and state natural resource offices, and consultancies to promote regional economic growth and foster new job creation by accelerating the characterization of critical minerals for potential future extraction in the Appalachian Mountain region. The Expand Appalachia project team partners are Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky, Penn State, West Virginia University, Bluefield State University, Marshall Miller & Associates, Bandy Geological, Virginia Department of Energy, Kentucky Geological Survey, Crescent RI, Chmura Economics & Analytics, Gray Energy, Coalfield Strategies, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
DOE Funding: $7,500,000
Non-DOE Funding: $ 2,057,921
Total Value: $9,557,921