T. Diedrich and S. Gischia
MineraLogic LLC, Minnesota, United States
Keywords: metals, mining, geochemistry
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials is charged with maintaining cognizance of the supply chain from source to final assembly with respect to its ability to support national defense and essential civilian industries. Critical minerals—commodities vital to national security and economic prosperity, and largely sourced from a supply chain vulnerable to disruption—were one focus of the White House’s 100-Day Review, completed under Executive Order 14017, which identified existing challenges to the U.S. supply chain. Challenges highlighted in this report include both schedule to establishment of new mines (i.e., domestic sources of the critical minerals and materials) and importantly, operating mines in an environmentally sound manner. MineraLogic provides advances to both of these challenges through: 1) an active practice of hydrogeochemical forecasting to support environmentally sound mine design and operations management; 2) NSF SBIR-funded geochemical tools to reduce carbon intensity of mining; and 3) a DOE SBIR-funded database and geochemical tools which can be wielded for efficiency in permitting timelines. This poster will provide three examples, each showcasing how application of geochemical tools and SBIR-funded innovations can support national security and economic prosperity through advancing sustainable mining practices.