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How China Beat Out the U.S. to Become the Top Player in Rare-Earths Refining 3/24/2025

How China Beat Out the U.S. to Become the Top Player in Rare-Earths Refining

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributes to this article about how President Trump wants to secure the minerals the U.S. needs for everything from smartphones to jet fighters by striking deals in Ukraine, Greenland and even Russia.  But even if the Trump administration secures more mines for American companies through agreements like the mineral-rights deal being discussed with Ukraine, it may have to send much of the minerals to China—its main geopolitical rival—to be processed.  March 24, 2025.

Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth? 3/23/2025

Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth?ian

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributes to this article about how close we really are to extracting rare minerals from the many celestial bodies floating above us.  But others question whether mining these metals in space and bringing them back to Earth is really feasible, especially in the near term – and whether it could have its own unique, but just as impactful, environmental costs.  March 23, 2025.

Will I-80 ever be fixed? What we know after collapsed mines cause 3 sinkholes. 3/22/2025

Will I-80 ever be fixed? What we know after collapsed mines cause 3 sinkholes.

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Paul Santi contributes to this article about authorities within New Jersey have attributed all three sinkholes to collapsing mineshafts underneath the roadway. As the mines have started affecting the structural integrity of the highway, locals want to know if it’s safe, and how this might ever be fixed. March 22, 2025.

Copper prices are typically a leading economic indicator. But maybe not this time. 3/21/2025

Copper prices are typically a leading economic indicator. But maybe not this time.

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange is featured on this podcast discussing how the price of copper has surged in the past few weeks to its highest level in nearly 10 months. Traders typically think of copper as a leading economic indicator; rising prices often predict economic growth ahead.  However, that may not be what is causing this surge.  March 21, 2025.

Intercomparison of Three Continuous Monitoring Systems on Operating Oil and Gas Sites 3/18/2025

Intercomparison of Three Continuous Monitoring Systems on Operating Oil and Gas Sites

Colorado School of Mines Student Researchers William S. Daniels, Spencer G. Kidd, Shuting Lydia Yang, Shannon Stokes, Payne Institute Fellow Arvind P. Ravikumar, and Faculty Fellow Dorit M. Hammerling compare continuous monitoring systems (CMS) from three different vendors on six operating oil and gas sites in the Appalachian Basin using several months of data. March 18, 2025.

Mining politics and policy 3/17/2025

Mining politics and policy

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is featured on this podcast discussing how from molybdenum to lithium, modern life depends on chemicals. But what the U.S. mines is rarely processed here, giving a perspective on how mining could change under the Trump administration amid rare bipartisan agreement.  March 17, 2025.

How much will the U.S. energy mix change under Trump? Maybe not much. 3/17/2025

How much will the U.S. energy mix change under Trump? Maybe not much.

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is featured on this podcast about how with the new U.S. administration vibes have shifted dramatically when it comes to energy and the environment.  Green New Deal aspirations have given way to “Drill, baby drill!” this country is likely to continue its all-of-the-above approach to energy. We want energy from everywhere, especially with U.S. and global electricity demand on the rise.  March 17, 2025.

A “Sputnik moment” in Deep Sea Mining 3/17/2025

A “Sputnik moment” in Deep Sea Mining

Payne Institute Fellow Alex Gilbert, Seaver Wang, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how China’s deep-sea mining deal with the Cook Islands raises the stakes in critical mineral competition, with the United States at risk of falling behind.  March 17, 2025.

The unexpected knock-on effect of Trump’s minerals ‘deal of the century’ 3/13/2025

The unexpected knock-on effect of Trump’s minerals ‘deal of the century’

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Elizabeth Holley contributed to this article about how critical mineral procurement has been a major focus for Trump since he took office.for aerospace and defense.  However, Trump’s focus on obtaining these minerals may have a knock-on effect, and help unlock the US’s potential in the green technology sector.  March 13, 2025.

Trump continues push to expand domestic critical mineral production, refining 3/12/2025

Trump continues push to expand domestic critical mineral production, refining

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange contributed to this article about how President Donald Trump is planning an executive order to build refining facilities on military bases to boost domestic production of critical minerals.  He is also reportedly planning to name a critical minerals czar that would help coordinate the efforts to expand production capacity.  March 12, 2025.

Industry Anticipates Geothermal Energy Growth Burst in the US 3/6/2025

Industry Anticipates Geothermal Energy Growth Burst in the US

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributed to this article about how the US is hoping to take a cue from the nation of Iceland, which powers most of its electrical grid with geothermal energy, proponents say they expect a U.S. rampup as projects receive closer attention from the fossil-fuel sector, investors and the government.  March 6, 2025.

Building Lower-Carbon Industry Is About Future-Proofing Our Economy 3/5/2025

Building Lower-Carbon Industry Is About Future-Proofing Our Economy

Charles McConnell and Payne Institute Accelerated Methane Reduction Initiative Director Simon Lomax write about how a growing number of states, regions, and countries are demanding lower-carbon products.  There are proven technologies that can reduce the carbon intensity of essential products and future-proof American industry – but perhaps none more critical to broadly deploy than carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS).  March 5, 2025.

Ukraine’s Minerals Won’t Solve U.S. Supply Chain Problems 3/3/2025

Ukraine’s Minerals Won’t Solve U.S. Supply Chain Problems

Payne Institute Fellow Josh Busby, Emily J. Holland, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how even from a purely interest-based perspective, however, there are several structural realities that prevent Ukraine’s extractive materials from contributing much to the U.S. national security community’s renewed interest in critical minerals.  March 3, 2025.

Natural gas is having a moment, but more pipelines may be needed 3/3/2025

Natural gas is having a moment, but more pipelines may be needed

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange is featured on this podcast about how as natural gas’ role in the U.S. electric grid grows, there’s also been an increase in natural gas deliveries to power plants through pipeline companies and their large transmission lines.  Our electric grid is getting cleaner thanks to renewables, but so is natural gas.  March 3, 2025.

Colorado School of Mines project hopes to warm houses, lower bills in mobile home communities 3/3/2025

Colorado School of Mines project hopes to warm houses, lower bills in mobile home communities

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Paulo Tabares-Velasco contributes to this article about how the goal of the Colorado School of Mines three-year program is to bring energy efficiency to low-income families and communities. The pilot project is aimed at bolstering energy efficiency across the community through a combination of improvements to the units and a switch to electric appliances.  March 3, 2025.

The Big Question Hanging over Trump’s Minerals Deal with Ukraine 2/27/2025

The Big Question Hanging over Trump’s Minerals Deal with Ukraine

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian contributed to this article about how the U.S. has become intensely interested in Ukraine’s supposed mineral wealth, with Ukrainian and American negotiators working on a deal to create an investment fund for the country’s reconstruction that would be partially funded by developing the country’s mineral resources.  The question remains, are these minerals even economically viable?  February 27, 2025.  

The Payne Institute experts are regional, national, and international leaders in applied research in natural resources, energy, and the environment. Our team is involved in a wide variety of research projects in these fields, and are committed to sharing these results with academic and professional audiences.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed are those of the author alone and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints, or official policies of the Payne Institute or Colorado School of Mines.