DESC0025072

DOE established a program to characterize and assess domestic Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) resources to enable sourcing from unconventional and secondary feedstocks with the United States. Demand is expected to quadruple over the next 15 years due to the adoption and growth of clean energy technologies on a global scale. At present China produces 60 percent of the world's rare earths but processes nearly 90 percent, which means that it is importing rare earths from other countries and processing them. This represents a supply chain that impacts US National Security. The DOE CMM program is focused on producing CMM from previous and sustaining coal mining operations, other fossil energy related byproduct streams (e.g., produced water from natural gas and oil operations), and other mining waste streams (e.g., mine tailings) to provide necessary materials for the clean energy transition. Two CMM technical areas of focus are: (1) small-footprint or enhanced recovery and (2) exploration through reuse of existing wells or boreholes. This Phase I SBIR project targets downhole elemental identification and characterization by developing a DD neutron generator, wireline, prompt-gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) tool to reduce the cost and time associated with exploration activities through the reuse of existing wells or other boreholes. The commercial objective is an instrument tool that can be used for real-time in-situ characterization and quantification of CMM at depth to readily quantify concentrations and or mode of occurrence are desired for down-hole settings (e.g. boreholes or existing wells) by performing full-spectra gamma-spectral measurement. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits This SBIR project will help the domestic US mining industry obtain diversified sources of raw materials, as well as encourage onshoring of new processing concepts for REE and CMM extraction and refinement. Economically speaking, the rare earth metals market was valued at USD $10.6 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD $21.7 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR 7.4%. The increasing demand for rare earth metals can be directly attributed to the rise of emerging technologies.