Enhancing and Diversifying Supply

CMI researches ways to expand the supply of rare earth and other critical resources through advancing mineral characterization and beneficiation and innovative separations and recoveries

As CMI begins its third phase of operation in 2023, the CMI focus area Enhancing and Diversifying Supply (which was known as Diversifying Supply during CMI Phase I and Phase II) will conduct research around the themes of Advancing Mineral Characterization and Beneficiation and Innovative Separations and Recoveries. For questions or more information, please contact cmidirector@ameslab.gov.

News & Highlights

All News | All Highlights

image of two people wearing protective gear in a research laboratory

Research Highlight

CMI project lead promoted to professor at Missouri S&T

group of people looking at presenters at the front of the room

Research Highlight

CMI offers tutorials during technical meeting to encourage discussion among CMI Team members

diagram showing balls in a circle to represent a ball mill with milling media and reaction mixture

Research Highlight

Diversifying lithium supply brines to hard-rock minerals: vacuum-induced thermal extraction of Li from α-spodumene (VITELiS)

person demonstrating strength of magnets in copper tubes

Research Highlight

CMI researcher teaches hometown high school students about critical materials

image of gray slurry, shows improved flotation froth

Research Highlight

Enhanced recovery of PGMs and high-value coproducts from domestic sources

Research Projects

CMI Project 1.1.10 Enabling lithium mudstone: the nation’s largest lithium resource (Project ELM)

CMI Project 1.1.5 Enhanced domestic extraction of platinum group metals, nickel, copper and cobalt from primary sources

CMI Project 1.1.6 Extraction of rare earth phosphate minerals from primary and secondary sources

CMI Project 1.1.7 Improving beneficiation efficiency via preferential breakage and physical separation

CMI Project 1.1.9 Diversifying lithium supply from brines to hard-rock minerals: mechanochemical extraction of lithium at low temperature (MELLT) from α-Spodumenes

CMI Project 1.2.2 Enhancing critical mineral separation with a dual-ligand approach

CMI Project 1.2.3 Recovery and separation of gallium and germanium from zinc wastes

CMI Project 1.2.8 Selective separation of platinum group metals, precious metals, and critical elements from selenium crude residue at Kennecott Utah Copperton Concentrator