Sustainable Mining of Minerals from Sea Water and Waste Brine

Innovative companies like Magrathea Metals in Oakland, California, are pioneering a maintainable approach to sustainable mining of minerals from ocean water and waste brines. Instead of relying on traditional land disturbance mining, they’re turning to extracting critical metals from seawater like magnesium and lithium. This approach addresses economic and environmental concerns and strengthens national security by reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.

The Need for Domestic Magnesium Production

Due to its lightweight characteristics and industrial additive properties magnesium is a critical mineral. It use by industries including aircraft, automobile, steel, and defense is essential. Currently, China dominates the global magnesium market, producing 85% of the supply using a coal-intensive process. This dependence poses a strategic risk, as China could disrupt U.S. manufacturing by halting magnesium exports.

Producing magnesium domestically and utilizing renewable energy resources is a practical solution to mining and processing magnesium and other industry critical minerals. Magrathea Metals extraction process employs a carbon-neutral method for mineral extraction. The company uses wind and solar energy, primarily during off-peak hours when it is cheaper, to power the extraction process. This makes their production cost significantly lower, about half the cost of traditional methods that rely on ore processing and coal fired power generation.

Sustainable Extraction Process of Mining Minerals

Magrathea Metals buys waste brines from ocean water desalination plants. Allowing the brine water to evaporate leaves behind magnesium chloride salts. Subjecting the salts to an electrical current separates impurities from the magnesium, which is then cast into ingots for future manufacturing of machine components. This method leverages renewable energy and low labor, avoiding heavy coal usage present in traditional extraction processing.

Researchers are increasingly exploring sustainable mining of minerals from briny wastes generated by various industries. Desalination plants, which produce vast amounts of brine as a byproduct, could become a major source of metals like magnesium, lithium, and cobalt. This shift not only provides an alternative to land based ore mining but also addresses the environmental challenge of disposing of desalination brine, which in higher concentrations is toxic to marine life.

Environmental and Economic Benefits of Sustainable Mining

Large-scale brine mining could reduce the environmental impacts associated with traditional mining, such as land disturbance and acid-mine drainage that pollutes streams and rivers. Moreover, it presents an opportunity to create a circular economy, where waste from one process becomes a resource for another. According to Oregon State University estimates, brine from desalination plants contains valuable materials worth $2.2 trillion, including 17,400 tons of lithium, crucial for battery production.

Globally, companies are recognizing the potential of brine mining. For instance, in California’s Salton Sea, there is enough lithium to meet U.S. demands for decades. ExxonMobil is building a major lithium processing facility in Arkansas, expected to produce 15% of the world’s lithium by 2030. Innovations in technology are making it economically viable to extract minerals from brine, which was previously considered too costly.

The convergence of rising values for critical materials, increasing costs of conventional mining, and the need for secure supply chains is driving interest in sustainable brine mining. Magrathea Metals exemplifies how innovative approaches can transform waste into valuable resources, contributing to a more sustainable mining of minerals.

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References:
Yale Environment 360 Researchers explore mining seawater for critical metals
https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2019/03/f61/Chapter%206.pdf
Lithium Mining: Environmental and Social Impact of Mineral Extraction