From Scrap to Supply: Circular Strategies for Critical Minerals

This research paper by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute examines how the United States can reduce its heavy reliance on critical mineral imports through circular economy strategies, specifically focusing on recycling and secondary recovery from waste streams like acid mine drainage and phosphate fertilizer byproducts.

• The United States is highly dependent on imports for critical minerals essential to the clean energy transition, with China dominating the supply chain as the top producer of 60% of U.S.-designated critical minerals. In 2024, the U.S. relied on imports for 100% of 12 critical minerals and over 50% of another 28 minerals.
• Recycling lithium-ion batteries, particularly from electric vehicles, could lower the demand for mined cobalt, nickel, and lithium by approximately 10%. However, current U.S. recycling rates for these batteries are below 15% due to limited infrastructure and inefficient collection systems.
• Secondary recovery offers a way to extract critical minerals from waste products. Acid mine drainage (AMD) from abandoned mines is a significant source; in Appalachia, solids from AMD treatment have contained over 2,000 milligrams of rare earth elements per kilogram, with a value of up to $400 per metric ton.
• Phosphogypsum waste from phosphate fertilizer production is another viable source for secondary recovery. Chemical extraction methods have successfully recovered between 77% and 94% of rare earth elements from this waste.
• Recent U.S. government actions to secure domestic mineral supplies include a March 2025 executive order by President Trump and nearly $1 billion in Department of Energy funding for battery recycling and recovery projects. Legislative efforts include the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act of 2025 and the Intergovernmental Critical Minerals Task Force Act.

APA

Parker, E. (2025). From Scrap to Supply: Circular Strategies for Critical Minerals. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/from-scrap-to-supply-circular-strategies-for-critical-minerals

Chicago

Parker, Erin. From Scrap to Supply: Circular Strategies for Critical Minerals. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2025. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/from-scrap-to-supply-circular-strategies-for-critical-minerals.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Parker |first1=Erin |title=From Scrap to Supply: Circular Strategies for Critical Minerals |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=6 October 2025 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/from-scrap-to-supply-circular-strategies-for-critical-minerals |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{parker2025from, author = {Parker, Erin}, title = {{From Scrap to Supply: Circular Strategies for Critical Minerals}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/from-scrap-to-supply-circular-strategies-for-critical-minerals}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }