Core Natural Resources said its subsidiary, CONSOL Innovations LLC, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to pursue a multi-million-dollar grant supporting the recovery of critical minerals and rare earth elements from coal waste.
The funding, awarded through the DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation under its “Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities” program, remains contingent on successful grant negotiations. The final award amount has not yet been disclosed.
If finalized, the funding will support the development of a pilot-scale facility designed to extract rare earth elements and other critical materials from coal waste tailings generated at Core’s Pennsylvania Mining Complex.
The project aligns with growing U.S. efforts to establish domestic sources of critical minerals used in defense technologies, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and advanced manufacturing. Coal waste and mining byproducts have emerged as a potential alternative source of rare earth elements as Washington seeks to reduce reliance on overseas supply chains, particularly from China.
Core Chairman and CEO Jimmy Brock said the company aims to demonstrate that coal resources can provide value beyond traditional fuel markets through the recovery of strategic minerals. Dan Connell, president of Core’s Innovations business unit, said the project represents another step in evaluating opportunities to extract critical materials from the company’s mining byproducts.
The announcement expands Core’s broader strategy to commercialize coal-derived technologies beyond mining. Earlier this year, Northrop Grumman selected the company’s Touchstone Advanced Composites business as a supplier for its YFQ-48A Talon Blue Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. Core’s innovation portfolio also includes C-BATT, a joint venture focused on producing battery-grade graphite to reduce U.S. dependence on imported Chinese graphite.
The company cautioned that the DOE award is subject to negotiations and that there is no guarantee the grant will be finalized or awarded at the anticipated level.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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