{"id":10974,"date":"2025-08-29T18:18:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=10974"},"modified":"2025-09-02T13:47:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T13:47:39","slug":"unlocking-americas-critical-minerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/29\/unlocking-americas-critical-minerals\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking America\u2019s critical minerals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A look at how the U.S. can scale domestic production of critical minerals to meet accelerating demand.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Tas Mohamed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Electrifying mine haulage is key to accelerating U.S. production of critical minerals like copper, lithium, niobium, and rare earths, and is essential to powering the energy transition, securing supply chains, and enabling technologies.
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The race for critical minerals in the United States will require accelerated production from local mines \u2013 but to do this sustainably and at scale means harnessing smart and innovative technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. is accelerating efforts to increase domestic production of copper, lithium, niobium and rare earths to fuel the energy transition, protect national security and support high-tech manufacturing. These critical minerals are not optional; they are essential for defense, infrastructure, energy and next-generation technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put it in perspective, a single artificial intelligence (AI) data center today demands as much electricity as 100,000 households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is just the beginning; according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), future AI data centers could consume 20 times more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric vehicles (EVs) make up one in 10 car sales in the U.S., while EVs are globally expected to hit 25% of all car sales this year and grow to 40% by 2030. Another global growth market is in satellites, where Goldman Sachs estimates a seven-fold growth by 2035, with over 70,000 satellite launches expected by then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these technologies depend on critical minerals and rare earth elements including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. However, supply is lagging behind demand, with years of underinvestment in the mining sector creating a significant gap. Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company estimates that over $5 trillion in investment is required by 2035 just to meet the rising demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethinking U.S. minerals strategy<\/strong>
In this context, geopolitical instability is forcing the U.S. to rethink its critical minerals strategy. Current statistics indicate that China controls the production of 77% of the world\u2019s refined rare earth material, 46% of copper and 57% of lithium. This presents a major risk for the U.S. supply chain, and the current administration has recognized this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the \u201cUnleashing American Energy\u201d Executive Order, it has committed to expanding mine exploration and development across the country. This is intended to accelerate permitting, ease regulations and enable faster development of critical mineral projects. Key agencies like the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior have been empowered to support this shift.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A Railveyor system in operation underground \u2013 delivering a cleaner, more energy-efficient haulage solution.
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Innovating the way forward<\/strong>
Mining these critical minerals is not getting easier. Deposits are deeper, more remote and lower in grade. As a result, mine engineering and metallurgical processing is becoming more complex. Labor shortages are growing as fewer young people enter the mining industry. In addition, there are the growing demands of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, which are a top priority for mining executives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result of these multiple constraints is that the mining sector is now leaning heavily into innovation. Companies like Ivanhoe Electric, for instance, are turning to the Mining, Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector for high-impact solutions. Their Santa Cruz project will utilize modern mining technologies to facilitate faster development and more efficient processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NioCorp Developments is also playing a vital role in unlocking U.S. critical minerals. By leveraging advanced extraction and processing technologies, NioCorp is helping secure domestic supplies of niobium, scandium and rare earths essential for clean energy, defense and high-tech manufacturing. From AI and advanced analytics to autonomous haulage systems, innovation is helping the industry become cleaner, safer and more productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proven and available technologies<\/strong>
The good news is that many of these technologies are already available and well-proven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most promising opportunities lies in the electrification of mine haulage, representing an important shift taking place across the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At several emerging U.S. mining projects, energy-efficient electric haulage systems, enhanced by automation and digital technologies, are being used to rethink mine layouts entirely \u2013 offering both capital cost savings and long-term flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovative haulage systems with minimal infrastructure requirements are proving successful in reducing both Scope 1 and 2 emissions while enabling faster, more flexible deployment. They also offer the agility to scale production without committing to costly, energy-intensive infrastructure from the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe and easy to operate<\/strong>
Mine operators are benefiting from the simple and rugged design of these systems, which are suited to operate in the challenging environment of underground mining. They are safe to operate and maintain, requiring only standard technical training, typical of the underground workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These technologies will increasingly replace diesel-powered equipment alternatives, enabling mines to meet their sustainability goals while achieving ambitious production targets \u2013 even in deep and complex ore bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the author: Tas Mohamed is CEO of Railveyor.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A look at how the U.S. can scale domestic production of critical minerals to meet accelerating demand. by Tas Mohamed The race for critical minerals in the United States will require accelerated production from local mines \u2013 but to do this sustainably and at scale means harnessing smart and innovative technologies. The U.S. is accelerating efforts to increase domestic production…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10975,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[1027,644,1132,586,694,4041,4042],"coauthors":[1644],"class_list":["post-10974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-copper","tag-critical-minerals","tag-electric-vehicles","tag-lithium","tag-mine-haulage","tag-railveyor"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t