Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a mining technology that could reduce the amount of energy needed to access critical minerals and capture greenhouse gases, potentially making mining carbon-negative. The technology aims to mine low-concentration lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other critical minerals necessary for modern energy technologies while reducing waste and environmental impact. By using carbon dioxide to weaken the rock containing critical minerals, the mining process requires less energy. The ultimate goal is to significantly reduce the emissions produced during mining by storing them safely in the rocks, making mining carbon-negative by storing more carbon than is produced. The project is part of the Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery program, which aims to develop market-ready technologies that will increase domestic supplies of critical elements required for the transition to low-carbon or carbon-free energy.
New Mining Technology Uses CO2 as Tool to Access Critical Minerals – UT News.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new mining technology that could reduce the amount of energy needed to access critical minerals and capture greenhouse gases. The technology aims to mine low-concentration lithium, nickel, cobalt, and other critical minerals necessary for modern energy technologies while reducing waste and environmental impact.
By using carbon dioxide (CO2) to weaken the rock containing critical minerals, the mining process requires less energy. The ultimate goal is to significantly reduce the emissions produced during mining by storing them safely in the rocks, making mining carbon-negative by storing more carbon than is produced. Ultramafic rocks, which usually contain critical minerals, react with carbon, making the minerals easier to mine. The CO2 chemically reacts with the rock, partially turning it into limestone, incorporating the carbon dioxide into the mineral structure, and storing it permanently.
The mining technology aims to capture CO2 produced during mining to reduce emissions further. Estibalitz Ukar, a research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, explains that the technology’s CO2-reducing properties will help eliminate even more CO2, creating a low-emission operation.
Ukar is leading a team of scientists working to refine the mining technology in the lab for two years before a full-scale field test in partnership with Canada Nickel Company. The $5 million project, supported by the US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, aims to make low-grade deposits more economically viable, increasing the available supply of domestically produced critical minerals.
The mining technology aims to transition the world’s energy to technologies and sources with low-carbon emissions, requiring critical minerals necessary for modern energy technologies. Mining these elements produces waste and significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). By using CO2 to weaken the rock containing critical minerals, the technology could make mining carbon-negative by storing more carbon than is produced.
The field test is planned to take place in one of 20 newly discovered ore bodies near the US-Canada border, expected to be an essential source of critical minerals in North America. The project could help reduce the environmental impact of mining and enable the transition to low-carbon emissions technologies.
Estibalitz Ukar, a research scientist at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, has stated that the demand for critical minerals is already high, but it will increase significantly in the next three to five years as the world transitions to lower-emission technologies such as electric vehicles. She emphasizes the need to find creative ways to reduce costs and emissions, find new sources of metals, and make mines more sustainable to meet the growing demand.
The project is part of the Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery program, a new initiative that aims to develop market-ready technologies to increase domestic supplies of critical elements necessary for the transition to low-carbon or carbon-free energy. The project brings together the expertise of scientists from various universities and research institutions. A Q&A with Ukar is available on the UT News website.
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