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1. Summary Report: 4th Annual Workshop on Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals, 7-8 August 2024, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri, USA

   Locmelis, M; Clark, S; Swain, R (September 2024, Missouri S&T)

   On August 7-8, 2024, the Thomas J. O’Keefe Institute for Sustainable Supply of Strategic Minerals at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) hosted the fourth annual workshop on ‘Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals’. The workshop was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and was attended by 212 participants. 143 participants attended the workshop in-person in the Havener Center on the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla, Missouri, USA. Another 69 participants attended online via Zoom. Twenty participants (including 12 students and 4 early career researchers) received travel support through the NSF grant to attend the conference in Rolla. Out of the workshop 212 participants, 199 stated their sectors of employment during registration showing that 88 participants were from academia (34 students), 58 from the private sector and 53 from government agencies. The workshop was followed by a post-workshop field trip to US Strategic Minerals (formerly Missouri Cobalt) in southeast Missouri that was attended by 18 workshop participants from academia (n=11; including 4 students) and the private sector (n=7). Four topical sessions were covered during the workshop: A. The Critical Mineral Potential of the USA: Evaluation of existing, and exploration for new resources. B. Critical Minerals Workforce Development: How to grow the US critical minerals workforce. C. Critical Mineral Processing and Recycling: Maximizing critical mineral recovery from existing production streams. D. Critical Mineral Policy and Supply Chain Economics: Reshoring critical mineral production. The topical sessions were composed of two keynote lectures and complemented by oral and poster presentations by the workshop participants, as well as a 30-minute open discussion at the end of each topical session. Breakout sessions that concluded each day discussed: • Can mining lead the new materials future? • Critical minerals research: where to go from here? • Should the Bureau of Mines be restored? Discussions during the workshop highlighted, for example, that: (i) Mining companies need to better address downstream needs and develop company cultures inclusive of younger generations; (ii) Although funding opportunities over the past year’s started to make a difference for critical minerals supply chain resilience, additional funding that is aimed at strengthening academia – private sector partnerships as well as international collaborations is needed to ensure a long-term impact; (iii) The majority of participants would welcome the reestablishment of the Bureau of Mines, although no consensus was reached on its potential responsibilities. This workshop report provides a detailed summary of the workshop demographics and discussions. 

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2. Summary Report: 2nd Annual Workshop on Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals, 4-5 August 2022, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri, USA.

   Locmelis, Marek; Clark, Shelby; Lueking, Angela; Moats, Michael; Awuah-Offei, Kwame; Alagha, Lana; Fitch, Mark; Krolikowski, Alanna (January 2022, 2nd Annual Workshop on Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals)

   On August 4-5, 2022, the Thomas J. O’Keefe Institute for Sustainable Supply of Strategic Minerals at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) hosted the 2nd annual national workshop on ‘Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals’ funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The workshop was convened via Zoom and attracted 346 registrants, including 171 registrants from academia (62 students), 88 registrants from government agencies, and 87 registrants from the private sector. The workshop was free to attend for everyone who registered. On day 1 of the workshop, 152 unique viewers logged into the sessions. Day 2 had 111 unique viewers. Four topical sessions were covered: A. The Critical Mineral Potential of the USA: Evaluation of existing, and exploration for new resources (Day 1). Keynote speaker: Jeffrey Mauk, United States Geological Survey. B. Mineral Processing and Recycling: Maximizing critical mineral recovery from existing production streams (Day 1). Keynote speaker: Karin Olson Hoal, Cornell University. C. Critical Mineral Policies: Toward effective and responsible governance (Day 2). Keynote speaker: Michelle Michot Foss, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. D. Resource Sustainability: Ethical and environmentally sustainable supply of critical minerals (Day 2). Keynote speaker: Debra Struhsacker, Professional Geologist, Environmental Permitting & Government Relations Consultant. Each topical session was composed of one keynote lecture and three invited presentations. The sessions concluded with a Q/A discussion with all presenters. Recordings of selected presentations are available from the workshop website: https://criticalminerals.mst.edu/2022-presentation-videos/. The third annual workshop on ‘Resilient Supply of Critical ‘Minerals’ will be held in the summer of 2023 on the Missouri S&T campus, Rolla, Missouri, USA. The dates will be announced in January 2023. 

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3. Findings Report: Workshop on Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals

   Locmelis, Marek; Lueking, Angela; Moats, Michael; Awuah-Offei, Kwame; Alagha, Lana; Fitch, Mark; Krolikowski, Alanna; Clark, Shelby (October 2021, NSF Workshop Reports)

   null (Ed.)

   On August 2-3, 2021, the Thomas J. O’Keefe Institute for Sustainable Supply of Strategic Minerals at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) hosted the NSF-funded virtual workshop ‘Resilient Supply of Critical Minerals’. The workshop was convened via Zoom and attracted 158 registrants, including 108 registrants from academia (61 students), 30 registrants from government agencies, and 20 registrants from the private sector. Four topical sessions were covered: A. Mineral Exploration and Source Diversification. B. Supply Chain and Policy Issues. C. Improving Mineral Recycling and Reprocessing Technologies. D. Technological Alternatives to Critical Minerals. Each topical session was composed of two keynote lectures and followed by a breakout session that was designed to identify promising pathways towards increasing critical supply chain resilience in the United States. During each breakout session, participants were asked to address five questions: Q1. What are the roadblocks that affect the resilient supply of critical minerals? Q2. What are the most pressing research needs? Q3. What opportunities can lead to the fastest and biggest impact? Q4. What skills training is required to meet future workforce demands? Q5. What other questions should be asked, but are commonly overlooked? Several issues that limit critical mineral supply chain resilience in the United States were identified and discussed in all breakout sessions, including: 1. Insufficient understanding of domestic critical minerals resources. To address this issue, workshop participants highlighted the need for (i) more geologic research to identify new and evaluate existing resources; and (ii) a qualitative and quantitative assessment of critical minerals that may be recovered as by/co-products from existing production streams. 2. Technical limitations of current mineral processing and recycling technologies. To address this issue, workshop participants highlighted the need for (i) innovative mineral processing technologies, including more environmentally friendly chemicals/solvents, and (ii) automated recycling technologies for appliances and e-waste. Participants also highlighted the need for a centralized and simplified way to collect recyclable materials, and incentives for the public to participate in recycling. 3. Long permitting processes for mining and mineral processing operations, with often unpredictable outcomes. To address this issue, workshop participants suggested the development of new critical mineral focused policies with faster processing times and more transparent / predictable decision-making processes. 4. The negative public image of mining and mineral processing operations. To address this issue, workshop participants suggested to design public outreach / education initiatives and to include local communities into decision-making processes. 5. Limited availability of a critical mineral workforce. To address this issue, workshop participants suggested an increased focus on critical mineral specific skill training in higher education institutions, and advanced training of the existing workforce. 

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4. Bringing farm advisors into the sustainability conversation: Results from a nitrogen workshop in the US Midwest

   Doll, Julie E.; Reimer, Adam (October 2017, Journal of extension)

   Increasingly, farmers are looking to private sector advisors to inform their nitrogen decisions, but little is known about these important actors. We held a Sustainable Nitrogen Roundtable workshop to bring together important groups—private sector farm advisors, Extension educators, scientists, and farmers—to discuss new research and more sustainable use of nitrogen in midwestern cropping systems. We gained important insights by reaching outside academia and including private sector farm advisors as valued participants. Ninety percent of participants found that their understanding of varied viewpoints on nitrogen management improved, and an equal proportion would recommend such a workshop to a colleague. 

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5. 2024 Hydrothermal Geochemistry and Critical Minerals Meeting—Abstracts

   https://doi.org/10.58799/B-166  

   Gysi, A P; Hurtig, N C; Waters, L (June 2024, Bulletin New Mexico Bureau of Mines Mineral Resources)

   Gysi, A P; Hurtig, N C; Waters, L (Ed.)

   A major goal of this conference is to tackle the challenges described above and build a new network of scientists and professionals with different expertise, including but not limited to experimental geochemistry/chemistry, thermodynamic/geochemical modeling and databases, reactive mass transport modeling, molecular dynamic simulations, element extraction/separation technologies, theoretical thermodynamics and equations of state, and mineralogy, ore deposits, and processes in natural systems. Another important aspect is the participation of students and training the next generation of leaders in the field of critical minerals and thermodynamics. Participants at this meeting include scientists from academia and national laboratories, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as liaisons from industry, governmental agencies, and geological surveys. This five-day meeting includes daily talks, keynotes, small workshops, discussion sessions, and two evenings of poster sessions for students. One day includes an excursion to the nearby Lemitar Mountains carbonatite rare earth elements deposit to discover the geology of New Mexico and allow participants to link geosciences with other areas of basic energy sciences. We will also organize a geochemical modeling workshop using our “in-house” MINES thermodynamic database (Gysi et al., 2023) to show an application of thermodynamics to modeling critical mineral deposits. 

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