How to Mine in the United States

Now that we both agree that we need the mining industry and we need it here in the US, let’s talk about how a mine becomes a producer of critical minerals.

There are many mineral deposits or potential deposits around the world. There are also many more reasons on why we cannot mine those deposits. These include the country’s political climate such as a bad or corrupt government, the political attitudes of communities and citizens - where a nation enjoys the luxuries of AI, phone, cars, and other technologies but doesn’t want to mine the necessary minerals to build them, and financial challenges like a lack of support from investors or the government.

These are just a few of the challenges mining companies encounter when trying to produce build new mines. Additional challenges include exploration restrictions/challenges, excessive regulation, changes in commodity prices, uncertainty in demand, labor shortages and many more.

While trying to navigate through all those challenges, these are just a few big picture steps that a company needs to take in order to produce these critical minerals.

1. Discovery & Exploration

2. Feasibility Studies

3. Construction & Commissioning

4. Mining

I will briefly go over each one, what it entails and what kinds of challenges each one faces.

Discovery & Exploration

In order to start mining an ore deposit, we need to first find an area where the deposit is located. This is where the geologists come in and examine rocks and soils in the area, analyzing surrounding geology of the area, checking and researching any old mines or present producers nearby, and conducting early exploration work such as surveys, sampling and drilling. This is the first step to determine if a deposit exists and its potential size. With additional drilling and surveys, the company can gain more confidence on what is actually located underground and what they can mine.

Some of the challenges that a company can face during this stage include less mineral in the ground than expected, exploration challenges such as not hitting the ore when drilling or delays in results. One of the biggest challenge a company can experience at this stage is also financial. This is a huge challenge as the company is not bringing in any money as it is not mining anything.

Feasibility Studies

In this stage, the company knows where the deposit is located and starts making detailed plans on how much metal is in the ground, how much it costs in order ton extract it, how to mine and process it, how much money will be made from mining it, how it will contribute to the local economy and community, and how the land will be reclaimed. This is all laid out in a study and presented to investors, the local and surrounding communities/governments as well as the public as a whole. This shows the credibility of the company, of what’s actually in the ground and the plan on how to mine it and restore the land after it. During this stage, financial hardship is still a risk as the company is still not making money. They need to market themselves and their deposit in order to bring in investors. Another challenge is planning how to best mine the deposit, and engaging the community in order to get the “social license” or the support of the public in order to mine the deposit.

Construction & Commissioning

After obtaining the necessary permits and receiving approval from the majority of its stakeholders, the company will begin with construction of any facilities and infrastructure needed to support the mine and the mining of the ore. This includes but is not limited to processing facilities, administration buildings, maintenance facilities, and roads, among other things. These buildings are necessary for the operation of the mine and getting the mineral from the ground all the way out the door and on its way to a modern luxury. The company will commission plants, pumps, crushers and other auxiliary units in order to produce the final product. The financial risk is still revelant as the company is still not producing anything. Other risks involve building the needed infrastructure on time and in budget, making sure everything that is built and built right.

Mining

At this stage, the company is finally extracting the critical mineral out of the ground and actually starts earning money. This is also when the critical mineral starts its path to becoming part of consumer end products like phones, cars, airplanes or televisions. This stage takes the longest to get to and can take anywhere from 7 to 20 years or longer depending on the location of the deposit. Even though the company is finally producing the mineral, challenges include making profit, running a safe operation, and being stewards of the environment, among others.

There is a last and arguably the most important stage: reclamation.

Reclamation

This is where the company returns the mined land to its original condition. This includes reclamation work such as planting native plants, building and grading meadows and hills and making it appear as if the mine never existed. This is as crucial as the mineral that was extracted as it allows for nature to reclaim the land, allowing future generations to enjoy the area.