The Science Enabling a Steady Supply of Critical Minerals - Berkeley Lab News Center (.gov)
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Modern life is built on critical minerals and materials. These elements are key ingredients in the technologies that enable a high quality of life, such as the chips and batteries powering our electronics, the medical devices that diagnose and treat diseases, and the infrastructure of the nation’s power grid. The materials are also used to manufacture defense technologies, fuels and chemicals, aerospace vehicles, and automotives.
Although the U. S. has geological resources of many critical minerals and materials (CMMs), some key commodities are only found in challenging forms, either scattered in trace amounts, chemically mixed with other elements, or both. The extraction, separation, and refining processes needed to convert these raw materials into purified products ready for manufacturing are expensive, complex, and energy intensive.
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