America looks to polluted mine water to loosen China’s rare earth grip

MOUNT STORM, Aug 22 — In the Appalachian region of West Virginia, reddish water flowing from abandoned coal mines is acidic, laden with heavy metals and toxic to the environment.

But the same polluted water also contains rare earths, valuable minerals used in everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to drones and fighter jets.

Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) believe the wastewater could help the United States reduce its dependence on China, which dominates the global rare earths market in both production and refining.

“The US has started to make inroads on the midstream and downstream portions, but what we haven’t had domestically is the front end feedstock,” said Mark Gavin, WVU’s vice provost.

The United States currently has only one rare earths mine, in Mountain Pass, California, which mainly produces “light” elements, while more valuable “heavy” rare earths are largely sourced overseas.

‘Environment cleanup’

About 10 years ago, university researchers discovered that wastewater from abandoned mines contained rare earths and began developing a pilot project to recover them.

At a retired coal mine in Mount Storm, the contaminated water is collected in a basin before being pumped to a small treatment plant where pollutants are removed and rare earths extracted.

The water emerges almost turquoise before being released back into the environment.

“With this operation, we achieve two purposes: one, environment cleanup, and second, recover rare earths as a valuable byproduct,” said Lance Lin, director of the WVU Rare Earth Elements Initiative.

Lance Lin, director of the WVU Rare Earth Elements Initiative, observes an acid mine drainage treatment basin at West Virginia University’s pilot plant in Mount Storm, West Virginia, on August 12, 2026. — AFP pic

The Mount Storm facility can produce about four tonnes of rare earth oxides a year, around 45 per cent of which are heavy rare earths, Lin said.

Researchers are considering expanding the process to other mine sites, with WVU engineer David Hoffman estimating that production of 300 tonnes a year could meet seven to eight per cent of global demand for rare earths such as terbium and dysprosium.

‘Minimum supply’

Engineer and rare earth extraction specialist Tommee Larochelle questioned the project’s commercial viability but said it could “ensure minimum supply to the defense industry”.

“If the political will and financing align, it is doable in the short term,” Larochelle told AFP.

The extracted rare earth concentrate still needs to be separated and refined, areas where the United States has limited capacity.

Vials containing rare earth concentrates extracted from acid mine drainage at West Virginia University’s pilot plant in Mount Storm, West Virginia, on August 12, 2026. — AFP pic

The US government has been funding companies working on separation, refining and magnet production, while a startup involved in the WVU project has reached a preliminary agreement with REalloys to process rare earths recovered from acid mine drainage.

“Even us partnering with this kind of partner…we’re not going to solve the entire problem,” Gavin said.

“But we can absolutely put into the supply chain a very meaningful amount of heavy rare earth elements that will produce the magnets that we domestically depend upon,” he added.

“So, are we the solution? No. Are we part of the solution? Absolutely.” — AFP