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Market Snapshot: Rare Earth Elements from Mine Waste

In a major push to secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals, the U.S. government has accelerated funding for technologies that recover rare earth elements (REEs) from unconventional sources. Driven by the need to support manufacturing, decarbonized energy infrastructure, and national security, these initiatives aim to reduce reliance on foreign imports by tapping into industrial byproducts, such as mine waste, called mine tailings. In line with President Trump’s March 2025 executive order to increase domestic critical mineral production, the Department of Energy (DOE) has recently launched significant funding opportunities through its Critical Minerals and Materials Program. All 17 rare earth elements—scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), and the lanthanides, such as praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy)—are federally designated critical minerals.

  • Rare Earth Demonstration Facility Program ($134 million): In December 2025, DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) announced $134 million in funding to support projects that demonstrate the commercial viability of recovering and refining rare earth elements from unconventional feedstocks including acid mine drainage, mine waste, e-waste, and other deleterious material like industrial waste. In June 2026, two awards were announced for the Colorado School of Mines, to process “red mud” which is a critical mineral-rich bauxite waste product, and Phoenix Tailings (Woburn, MA), to produce high-purity heavy rare earth metals from domestic industrial waste-derived feedstocks.
  • Mines & Mine Capacity Expansion Program ($275 million): In November 2025, DOE announced $275 million in funding for the Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting By-Product Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities funding opportunity. It focuses on development of technologies for recovery of critical minerals and materials from mining and other industrial byproducts and wastes. In July 2026, five projects, totaling $75 million, were selected under Topic Area 1: Mines & Metals Pilots—Coal-Based Industry.

Global demand for rare earth elements is projected to surge over the next 10+ years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates it will grow 50-60% by 2040. The overall global rare earth metals market stood at about 241,000 metric tons in 2025 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4% to reach 298,000 metric tons in 2030, according to MarketsandMarkets. Valued at $5.46 billion in 2025, the market is projected to grow in value at a CAGR of 6.2% to reach $7.39 billion in 2030. Neodymium (Nd) accounts for about 51-52% of the market by value, followed by praseodymium (Pr) at 19-20% and terbium (Tb) at 13-14% (MarketsandMarkets, 2025).

Reuse and recovery could meet 30-40% of rare earth mineral demand by 2050 in key regions like the U.S., Europe, and China, according to Frost & Sullivan. However, the global market for recovery and recycling of rare earth metals – from fluorescent lamps, magnets, batteries, fluid cracking catalysts, and industrial processes – is still emerging, with an estimated value of $422 million in 2026, according to MarketsandMarkets. North America accounts for about 11% ($47 million).

Mine tailings from coal and other mining operations is one promising feedstock (see, for example, Chowdhury & Talan, 2025), and the U.S. Geological Survey has conducted multiple studies identifying, characterizing, and mapping critical minerals in mine waste. A recent analysis by Colorado School of Mines researchers Holley et al. (2025) suggests that 90% recovery of existing materials in mine tailings could meet nearly all domestic demand for critical minerals and that just 1% recovery would substantially reduce reliance on imports. Despite the potential, the economics of reprocessing mine tailings are incredibly sensitive to market prices, which have been unstable, and most proposed methods of recovery require a great deal of capital expenditure to implement, while others have yet to be demonstrated at scale.

Key players in the global market for rare earth element recovery from mine waste range from pure-play recovery technology companies, large diversified mining companies, and midstream and separation-focused firms. Examples include the following:

Recovery technology companies

Midstream (separation) technology companies

Large mining companies

To learn more about technologies for recovering rare earth elements from mine tailings and the market needs, consider checking out the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)’s annual conference and expo, MINEXCHANGE. The 2027 meeting is being held February 28–March 3 in Denver, CO. The February 2026 conference’s technical program features relevant talks from Rio Tinto, Infinite Elements Inc., and academic researchers, among others.

Market Research by Desirae Zingarelli-Sweet

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Fusion Energy Overview

Fusion is a potential energy source and occurs when one or more lighter elements combine to form a heavier element, releasing energy in the process. [1] Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. [2]   A future fusion plant could use the heat produced by the fusion reaction to produce steam to drive turbines or generators that produce electricity. [3] For almost a century, scientists around the globe have been looking to recreate and harness the power of fusion energy. [4]  

Tokamak
Source: ITER

There are two commonly pursued technologies to create and control plasma. Magnetic confinement uses strong magnets to contain plasma. A widely used configuration known as a tokamak[5] uses powerful magnets to confine the plasma within a toroidal reaction vessel, with the magnetic fields keeping the plasma away from the walls of the vessel to prevent damage and unintended cooling of the plasma.[6]  

Examples of U.S. companies developing magnetic confinement systems are Commonwealth Fusion Systems, TAE Technologies, Tokamak Energy, Helion Energy, and Thea Energy. Inertial confinement uses high-power lasers or electrical discharges to compress a small capsule of fusion fuel to extreme temperatures and pressures for a short time. This approach is used, for example, in the National Ignition Facility at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. [7] Examples of U.S. companies developing inertial confinement systems are Xcimer Energy, Focused Energy, ZAP Energy, and Shine Technologies. In addition to these methods, several companies such as General Fusion,  are pursuing various other pathways to try to create and control fusion reactions, including a hybrid of both magnetic and inertial confinement approaches. [8]

Various fusion fuels are used to power these pursued pathways. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, once developed, first-generation fusion plants may likely use a combination of abundant deuterium and lithium as fuel. [9] Deuterium, lithium and tritium Deuterium-tritium is a highly studied fusion fuel and a likely basis for the first fusion power plants.[10] Lithium is a critical resource for fusion because of its material properties. Lithium is used to breed tritium, the key fuel for fusion. [11] The rare lithium-6 form of the metal, which makes up only 7.5 per cent of all naturally occurring lithium, is the most efficient for sustaining the fusion process. [12] Li-6 is banned in the U.S. because of the harmful mercury waste it generates. [13] So most fusion power concepts rely on “enriched” lithium, where the Li-6 content has been boosted. [14]

Several companies are investing in efforts aimed at commercializing fusion energy. [15] Many of these companies are startups that have raised over $100 million in the past few years. [16]  The global fusion energy market size is projected to reach $611.8 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 5.56% from 2025 to 2034. [17] 

Current State - Projections of the time to putting Fusion Energy on the Grid

As of October 2025, fusion reactors remain pre-commercial, with no system yet producing net energy. Fusion energy stakeholders provide varying timelines as to when fusion energy will become technically feasible as an energy source for the electrical grid and when it will become commercially viable.  Projections range from 10 years to several decades in the future. [18]   Some companies are claiming that they will achieve commercial fusion energy in the next few years[19] while other stakeholders and experts said fusion energy will take more than 20 years. The Fusion Industry Association reported that many commercial companies predict fusion industry will be commercially viable in the 2030’s time frame. [19] 

Source: The Global Fusion Industry in 2025—Fusion Industry Association

Other stakeholders and experts believe fusion energy might put electricity on the grid in 10 to 20 years, however, significant resources are required to do so.[20] The Figure below illustrates commercialization risks that fusion energy will face on the road to commercial deployment. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the aspirational timeline as shown is strongly dependent on the level of both public and private investments. [21]

Commercialization risks for fusion

Source. U.S. Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Strategy 2024

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