Critical mineral extraction is evolving, with global companies leveraging advanced technologies to reduce environmental impacts, enhance resource efficiency, and ensure supply chain resilience.

Advanced Extraction Technologies

Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE):

• Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) has transformed lithium recovery from brine sources, bypassing traditional evaporation ponds. This technology minimizes water consumption and land disturbance while achieving high lithium recovery rates. EnergyX’s partnership with Bolivia’s YLB at the Salar de Uyuni demonstrates DLE’s potential, targeting lithium recovery with 90% efficiency and 90% less water use. As global lithium demand accelerates, DLE offers a scalable solution for diverse brine sources, including geothermal fields.
• EnergyX's partnership with Bolivia’s YLB (Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos) to deploy DLE at the Salar de Uyuni, targeting lithium recovery with 90% efficiency while using 90% less water than traditional methods.
• DLE is gaining traction due to its scalability and ability to tap previously uneconomical lithium resources, including geothermal brines.

In-Situ Recovery (ISR) for rare earth elements:

• In-Situ Recovery (ISR) for rare earth elements offers a low-impact alternative to conventional mining. By injecting leaching solutions directly into mineralized rock formations, ISR dissolves target metals without large-scale surface excavation. Pensana’s Longonjo Rare Earth Project in Angola exemplifies this approach, using naturally acidic solutions to extract high-purity rare earths while avoiding surface disruption. ISR’s applications extend beyond rare earths, with ongoing trials for uranium, lithium, and cobalt.
• Pensana’s Longonjo Rare Earth Project in Angola has adopted ISR, leveraging naturally occurring acidic solutions to recover high-purity rare earths.
• ISR eliminates the need for open-pit mining and drastically reduces waste generation.

Biomining and bioleaching for nickel and cobalt:

• Biomining and bioleaching leverage bacterial processes to extract metals from low-grade ores. Talvivaara Mining in Finland has industrialized this method for nickel and cobalt, utilizing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to dissolve metal sulfides without toxic chemicals. Bioleaching’s low-energy profile and scalability have positioned it as a competitive alternative for complex ores. China’s recent expansion of bioleaching trials for rare earths indicates broader adoption, offering a low-carbon pathway for metal recovery.
• Talvivaara Mining in Finland has pioneered large-scale biomining for nickel and cobalt, using sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to achieve cost-effective metal recovery.
• Bioleaching is now being tested for rare earth extraction in China, offering a low-carbon alternative to conventional processes.

Circular Processing and Zero-Waste Initiatives

Recycling and secondary recovery: Urban mining has emerged as a critical strategy for metal recovery, converting electronic waste into high-purity metals. Umicore in Belgium has developed a sophisticated process for recovering gold, silver, palladium, and critical metals like cobalt from end-of-life electronics. This approach not only reduces dependence on primary mining but also diverts hazardous waste from landfills. Redwood Materials in the United States has scaled this concept for lithium-ion battery recycling, achieving over 95% recovery of lithium, cobalt, and nickel for reuse in new batteries.

• Urban mining: Companies like Umicore in Belgium are leading in recovering metals from electronic waste, extracting gold, silver, palladium, and critical metals like cobalt and lithium.
• Closed-loop lithium recycling: Redwood Materials in the United States has developed a closed-loop system for lithium-ion battery recycling, recovering over 95% of nickel, cobalt, and lithium for reuse in new batteries.
• Industry leadership: Glencore’s Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations (Canada) use a circular process where smelter waste is reprocessed to extract valuable metals, achieving nearly zero waste.

Enhanced tailings reprocessing: Enhanced tailings reprocessing has unlocked valuable metals from mining waste. Anglo American’s Mogalakwena Platinum Mine in South Africa reprocesses historical tailings to recover platinum, palladium, and rhodium, while BHP’s Olympic Dam in Australia applies thickened tailings technology to reduce water consumption and minimize seepage. KGHM’s Głogów Copper Smelter in Poland recovers silver, gold, and other metals from copper slag, transforming industrial waste into valuable resources.

• Reprocessing old tailings: Anglo American’s Mogalakwena Platinum Mine in South Africa is reprocessing old tailings to recover rare metals like platinum, palladium, and rhodium, while reducing environmental risks from legacy waste.
• Water-efficient tailings management: BHP’s Olympic Dam (Australia) has adopted thickened tailings technology, which minimizes water use by creating dense, stackable tailings that reduce seepage.
• Integrated metal recovery: The KGHM Głogów Copper Smelter in Poland has developed a method to recover silver, gold, and other metals from copper slag, transforming waste into high-value products.

Low-Carbon Processing Innovations

Electrowinning has revolutionized low-energy metal recovery, using electrical current to precipitate metals from solution. Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the DRC employs electrowinning powered by renewable hydropower, achieving one of the world’s lowest carbon footprints for copper production. This method is being expanded to other metals, including zinc, cobalt, and nickel.

Electrowinning for low-energy metal recovery:

• Electrowinning uses electrical current to recover metals from solution, significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to smelting.
• Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the DRC employs electrowinning powered by hydropower, achieving one of the lowest carbon footprints in global copper production.
• Rio Tinto has invested in zero-carbon aluminum production through the ELYSIS process, a joint venture with Alcoa, which eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from aluminum smelting.

Hydrogen-based steel production:

• Hydrogen-based steel production is disrupting the traditional carbon-intensive blast furnace model. HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) in Sweden, a partnership between SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall, has achieved commercial-scale fossil-free steel using hydrogen as a reducing agent. China’s Baowu Steel, the world’s largest steel producer, is now piloting hydrogen-based steelmaking, with full commercialization expected by 2030.
• HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) in Sweden, a joint venture between SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall, has produced the world’s first fossil-free steel using hydrogen, now being scaled for commercial use.
• China’s Baowu Steel is conducting pilot tests on hydrogen-based steelmaking, aiming for full commercialization by 2030.

Precision Resource Management with Digital Technologies

Automated exploration and mining: Autonomous exploration and mining systems are enhancing efficiency and safety. Sandvik’s AutoMine system, deployed at BHP’s Pilbara iron ore mines, enables fully autonomous drilling with real-time performance optimization. De Beers has adopted AI-powered ore sorting in Botswana, using X-ray transmission (XRT) technology to identify and separate high-value diamonds, reducing processing waste.

• Autonomous drilling: Sandvik’s AutoMine system is used at BHP’s Pilbara iron ore mines, enabling remote, autonomous drilling with real-time performance tracking, improving safety and efficiency.
• AI-powered ore sorting: TOMRA’s X-ray transmission (XRT) technology is used by De Beers in Botswana to detect and separate diamonds from ore, reducing processing waste.
• Geospatial mapping: Barrick Gold uses LiDAR and satellite imaging for precise mineral mapping at its Kibali Mine in the DRC, identifying high-grade zones with minimal exploratory drilling.

Blockchain for supply chain transparency: Blockchain is redefining supply chain transparency for critical minerals. Everledger’s platform, adopted by Glencore, tracks responsibly sourced cobalt from the DRC, verifying ethical practices at every stage. Circulor’s blockchain solution provides end-to-end traceability for cobalt and nickel in Volvo’s electric vehicle batteries, ensuring compliance with sustainability standards. IBM’s Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) has become an industry standard for tracking conflict-free tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, offering a secure and auditable verification system.

• Secure mineral tracking: Everledger’s blockchain platform is used by Glencore for tracking responsibly sourced cobalt from the DRC, ensuring traceability from mine to market.
• Verified supply chains: Circulor has partnered with Volvo to provide end-to-end traceability of cobalt and nickel in electric vehicle batteries, using blockchain to confirm ethical sourcing.
• Mineral certification: IBM’s Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) tracks conflict-free tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold from mines in Rwanda, ensuring compliance with ethical standards.