USGS offers funding to states to find critical minerals in mine waste

USGS offers funding to states to find critical minerals in mine waste

Projects will support data collection needed to evaluate mine waste as a potential source of critical minerals

RESTON, VA – The U.S. Geological Survey has invited states to compete for $5 million in cooperative agreements to find critical minerals needed to drive the U.S. economy in the materials left over from mining at active and legacy sites.

Interested state geological surveys can apply online at grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Number G25AS00258. 

Applications are due by May 14, 2025. More information on how to apply can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity available at grants.gov.  

“The USGS is partnering with state geological surveys to modernize our understanding of critical minerals in the U.S., both below ground and above ground in mine waste, and this competitive funding will help us get there,” said Jamey Jones, science coordinator for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, also known as Earth MRI. “Minerals, such as germanium, are essential for high-performance computer chips used in applications that weren’t even dreamed of when old mines closed. Germanium often occurs with zinc in ore, and it might have been left behind in mine waste when zinc ore was processed.” 

The cooperative agreements are offered through Earth MRI, a partnership with state geological surveys, private companies, academia and other state and federal agencies.  Earth MRI is transforming the nation’s mapping of the subsurface and mine wastes needed to assess mineral resources critical for the U.S. economy and national security, as directed by Executive Orders including “A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals” in 2017 and “Unleashing American Energy” in 2025.