West Virginia University researchers turn polluted mine water into critical rare earth minerals

A solution to America’s dependence on foreign rare earth minerals may be coming from an unlikely place: polluted water leaking from abandoned coal mines.

Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) are working to transform acid mine drainage — a long-standing environmental problem in Appalachia — into a potential domestic source of critical minerals used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced military systems.

The United States currently relies heavily on foreign suppliers, including China, for many rare earth elements that are essential to modern technology and national security. Heavy rare earth minerals, in particular, are considered especially valuable because of their role in defense applications and advanced energy technologies.

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