When U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met to sign a minerals agreement on 28 February, their discussion devolved into a heated, and widely covered, exchange. The minerals agreement, if signed, would result in half of Ukraine’ future revenue from minerals and natural resources going to the United States, in exchange for U.S. military support.
rare earth elements
Posted inEditors' Vox
Toward a More Sustainable Future for the Rare Earths Industry
A new book explores how more sustainable methods are being applied to the recovery, processing, and purification of rare earths used in everyday technologies.
Posted inNews
Iron-Rich Volcanoes Hold Hidden Rare Earth Element Reserves
Experiments show how concentrations of rare earth elements, critical to the green energy transition, might be hiding in plain sight in iron-rich deposits around the world.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Tracers of Wind Erosion Provide Insight into Dryland Vegetation
Rare earth element tracers provide insight into how fire and wind transport influence the vegetation state of the world’s drylands.
Posted inFeatures
Critical Minerals for a Carbon-Neutral Future
The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative is filling data gaps and fostering more holistic understanding of critical mineral resources in the United States using a novel mineral systems framework.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Machine Learning Could Revolutionize Mineral Exploration
Using a global data set of zircon trace elements, new research demonstrates the power of machine learning algorithms to accurately identify and locate porphyry copper deposits.
Posted inNews
Extracting Rare Earth Elements from Waste with a Flash of Heat
A method called flash Joule heating could offer a more sustainable way to source essential components of electronics from coal fly ash.
Posted inNews
New Sensor Aids Rare Earth Extraction from Acid Mine Drainage
Rare earth elements appear in more than 200 consumer products. The race is on to source these elements from abundant and environmentally damaging mining waste.
Posted inNews
New Contamination Concern for Colorado Streams
Abandoned hardrock mines and climate change cause metals and other elements to leach into streams. They also put rare earth elements into the water, a new study finds.
Posted inScience Updates
Geological Surveys Unite to Improve Critical Mineral Security
A three-nation consortium is pooling geological expertise and resources to address vulnerabilities in supplies of these crucial natural resources.