DOE Gives $73 Million for Mining Technology Testing Grounds
The Department of Energy’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation will split $73 million in funding among four projects to test innovative new mining technologies in the U.S., the agency announced last week (Mining Technology).
What’s going on: “Part of the DOE’s Mine of the Future initiative, the funding aims to advance the development and commercialization of mining technologies designed to support critical mineral supply chains.”
- The chosen projects are in Virginia, Missouri, Texas and Arizona “and are set to provide real-world environments for testing next-generation mining applications.”
The details: Lynchburg, Virginia–based Innovative Wireless Technologies plans to use its part of the funding to create a testbed across West Virginia, Colorado and Virginia.
- Curators of the University of Missouri will build a “mining technology proving ground that combines two complementary facilities for underground technology testing and advanced comminution research” (Mining.com).
- Southern Methodist University in Texas will build the first synthetic mine in the world in a test facility made to speed mining from concept to deployment.
- The University of Arizona will use the funds to build “a scalable underground proving ground for mining, electrification and energy management technology.”
Why it’s important: “By establishing world-class testing grounds, we’re accelerating breakthroughs that will strengthen our supply chains, our workforce and our national competitiveness,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said in a DOE press release.
