Menu Close

Articles on Critical minerals

Displaying all articles

People hold rally signs during a Toronto rally raising concerns and opposition to the Ontario provincial government’s plans to expand mining operations in the so-called Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario in July 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Indigenous consultation is key to the Ring of Fire becoming Canada’s economic superpower

Ontario’s Ring of Fire could make Canada a minerals superpower, but Indigenous consultation is essential to ensure doing so does not harm reconciliation or Canada’s global reputation.
An aerial view of pools of brine that slowly evaporate, leaving behind lithium and other minerals, in the SQM mine in the San Pedro de Atacama desert, in northern Chile, on April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

The importance of critical minerals should not condone their extraction at all costs

The temptation to justify critical minerals mining at all costs is a dangerous fallacy. The social and environmental impacts of poorly mined critical minerals are dire.
Aerial view of the Pinto Valley copper mine, located on private and U.S. national forest lands in Gila County, Ariz. Wild Horizon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Gold, silver and lithium mining on federal land doesn’t bring in any royalties to the US Treasury – because of an 1872 law

Hard rock minerals like gold, silver, copper and lithium on public lands belong to the American public, but under a 150-year-old law, the US gives them away for free.
An ambitious clean energy transition requires more of the metals and minerals used to build clean energy technologies. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

How recycling could solve the shortage of minerals essential to clean energy

The demand for the minerals needed to build clean energy technology currently exceeds the available supply. If this issue continues, governments may find it hard to reach their clean energy targets.
A Northern Territory lithium mine. Fleet Space Technologies/AAP

We could need 6 times more of the minerals used for renewables and batteries. How can we avoid a huge increase in mining impacts?

Nearly 400 new mines could open by 2035 to meet demand for the minerals used in global electrification. Better recycling can help with supply, but mining’s impacts will have to be better managed.
Tellurium pieces. Jan Askeit / Wikimedia

How metal-munching microbes help the rare, toxic element tellurium circulate in the environment

Tellurium is a critical mineral for renewable energy – but little is known about its environmental effects and how it circulates in the wild.
Automaker GMC shows off its Hummer EVs at a plant in Detroit. Nic Antaya/Getty Images

Making EVs without China’s supply chain is hard, but not impossible – 3 supply chain experts outline a strategy

China controls much of the global EV supply chain, but electric vehicles that use its parts and minerals won’t qualify for new US EV tax credits. Can America build its own supply chain?
Mining waste can hold stores of valuable minerals. Shutterstock

Tapping mineral wealth in mining waste could offset damage from new green economy mines

Environmentalists are worried the shift to green energy means damage from more mines. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Top contributors

More