Geo lecture #13

Critical minerals 

• Any non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic or national security of the U.S an which has a supply chain vulnerable to disruption

• List of critical minerals from the U.S geological survey

• U.S department of energy cristical minerals assessment focuses on clean energy tech and includes additional minerals

Critical Minerals (USGS) 

• List updated every 3 years

• Used as the focus for mapping critical mineral potential withing the U.S 

• Ex: aluminum, magnesium, titanium and more

DOE critical minerals 

• Also includes copper and uranium, electrical steel (iron alloy with silicon) and silicon carbide 

Clean energy technologies

• Increase in demand for critical minerals driven by deployment of clean energy tech to reach net-zero emissions goals by 2050 

• International energy agency estimates that demand will increase by 400-600%by 2040

Clean energy tech

• Vehicles, stationary storage, hydrogen electrolyzers, solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, electric grid, solid-state lighting (eg, LEDS)

Stationary storage 

• Enhance efficiency, reliability and resilience of the electric grid

• Supports integration of intermittent renewable energy sources into the grid 

Lithium Ion Batteries 

• Lightweight batteries used in electric vehicles as well as for stationary energy storage

• Types include nickel manganese cobalt, nickel cobalt aluminum, lithium iron phosphate 

Hydrogen Electrolyzers 

• Hydrogen used as an energy carrier and chemical reactant 

• Water electrolysis is a low-carbon method of producing hydrogen 

Critical Mineral case studies-cobalt 

• Ferro-alloy metal that is corrosion-resistant and can be permanently magnetized 

• Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) commonly used in lithium ion batteries 

• >⅔ of cobalt produced in congo and zambia

Critical mineral case studies-cobalt 

• Jan 18, 2023 U.S signs memorandum of understanding to support the commitment between the DRC and Zambia to develop a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries 

• MOU aims to centralize production of EV batteries in the DRC and Zambia 

Critical Minerals Case study-lithium 

• Lithium is the lightest metal 

• Largest reserves in atacama desert, chile

• Extracted from massive brine evaporation ponds

• Currently over 90% of U.S imports come from argentina and chile 

Critical minerals case study-Lithium

• Alternative-direct lithium extraction 

• In 2023, doe analysis concluded that salton sea could produce lithium to support more than the total number of vehicles currently on us roads 

• Geothermal brines are already used for electricity production with large potential for expansion