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US DOE funds 17 mining technology projects at national labs
The $29.5 million award supports projects spanning underground recovery, autonomous exploration, and advanced beneficiation, aiming to shift next-generation mining from lab testing toward commercial deployment.
The US Department of Energy announced $29.5 million for 17 mining technology projects across 12 National Laboratories under its Mine of the Future Initiative, run through the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, according to Mining.com.
DOE said the effort is intended to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains and strengthen national security, while also advancing technologies for the long term, including underground recovery, autonomous exploration, secondary sourcing, and advanced beneficiation.
The projects include in-situ extraction technology work, such as electric-hydraulic fracturing at Idaho National Laboratory and low-voltage lithium extraction from clay at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Other lab efforts highlighted by DOE include a mobile robotics platform at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to map underground mines more quickly, and research at Argonne National Laboratory on recovering copper, nickel, and cobalt from mine tailings.
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