Scientist have found that Coal ash is a treasure trove of rare metals, and the US currently has 2
billion tons of Coal ash and creates 70 million tons per year. The origin of the coal impacts the
level of rare metals and the ease of extraction.
With the US importing 95% of rare metals, being able to extract from material already within the
US will remove some of the dependency on imports.
It is clear from the CNN article, that further work is required to understand the cost of extract, the
environmental impact of the chemicals used for extraction and the overall cost of extraction. Another concern is that this could drive the continued use of Coal which would not be good for the environment.
Scientists analyzed coal ash from power plants across the United States and found it could contain up to 11 million tons of rare earth elements — nearly eight times the amount the US has in domestic reserves — worth around $8.4 billion, according to recent research led by the University of Texas at Austin.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/climate/coal-ash-rare-earth-elements/
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