We could get most metals for clean energy without opening new mines
An analysis of active US mines finds they already collect virtually all of the minerals the country needs for batteries, solar panels and wind turbines – but these critical minerals mostly go to waste
By James Dinneen
21 August 2025
Open-pit mining at Kennecott Copper Mine, also called Bingham Canyon Mine, in Utah
Witold Skrypczak/Alamy
The leftover ore discarded by US mines is packed with key minerals – enough to provide virtually all of the raw material needed to build clean energy technologies. Recovering just a fraction of these minerals could meet the country’s growing demand for green energy without requiring imports or environmentally-damaging new mines – but getting them is easier said than done.
“We have to get better at using the material that we mine,” says Elizabeth Holley at the Colorado School of Mines.
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Currently, most individual mines focus on extracting just a few types of minerals, such as copper or gold. That involves digging up ore, crushing it and then separating out the main product using various metallurgical processes. Everything left over is then disposed of as tailings. “Most of what we are mining is waste,” says Holley.
These leftovers often contain other useful materials, including dozens of critical minerals the US government has identified as essential to military and energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. But the supply chains for some of these minerals are controlled by China, sparking urgent concern among the US and its allies they could be wielded for geopolitical leverage. That has spurred a search for alternative mineral sources, including mining byproducts and tailings.
However, most mines don’t know exactly what they are tossing out. “Many of the elements we currently consider critical were not in much use in the past, so no one was analysing for them,” says Holley.
