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West Virginia University Rare Earth Elements Initiative
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Frequently Asked Questions

AMD is acidic water generated when sulfide-bearing rocks are exposed to air and water during mining. It is a long-standing environmental challenge that can occur across many different types of mining regions, including coal, hard-rock, copper, gold, and others.

The term “rare earth elements” refers to a collection of 17 elements in the periodic table that aren’t exactly rare, but are identified as rare because they’re hard to find in high concentrations and in mineable quantities. The elements are all metals that carry very similar properties. In rare cases, they are found in deposits together.

Unlike an element such as gold, natural rare earth deposits never occur as pure metals, but are bonded in low-value minerals, making extraction challenging.

In usable form, these elements are necessary components of modern technologies. They are used in cellular phones, computers, televisions, magnets, batteries, catalytic converters, defense applications, and many more segments of modern society.

AMDREE™ stands for the Acid Mine Drainage Rare Earth Element technology that WVU developed.

Rare earth elements naturally occur in water and surrounding geology. Over time, AMD leaches these elements into solution — often concentrating heavy rare earths at levels far higher than conventional mined ores. This can occur across coal, hard-rock, and other mining activities.

WVU is an expert in acid mine drainage. WVU found that acid mine drainage, a byproduct of coal mining, “naturally” concentrates rare earths. Active coal mines, and in many cases state agencies, are required to treat the waste, which in turn yields solids that are enriched in rare earth elements.

A REE feedstock is any raw material — mineral ore or waste product — containing rare earth elements that can be processed to produce individual, high-purity rare earth oxides, metals, or compounds.

Rare earth element feedstocks include unconventional industrial byproducts, raw materials, and wastes that contain critical minerals. Key sources can include acid mine drainage, red mud (bauxite residue), e-waste (magnets, batteries, lamps), coal fly ash, asbestos tailings, and others.

WVU prioritizes strategically important heavy rare earth elements — especially dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and yttrium (Y) — while also recovering light rare earth elements neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).

  • Dy – Dysprosium (HREE): Essential for permanent magnets, enabling them to retain magnetic strength at high temperatures in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and industrial robots. It is crucial for nuclear control rods, laser materials, and defense applications.
  • Tb – Terbium (HREE): Essential for high-performance green phosphors in LED/fluorescent lighting and displays.
  • Y – Yttrium (typically grouped with HREE): Essential for phosphors in electronics and displays, LEDs, advanced ceramics and glass, and lasers in medical technology.
  • NdPr – Neodymium-Praseodymium: Essential for magnets and alloys.

WVU’s affiliated private non-profit organization, West Virginia University Research Corporation (WVURC), through its Board, authorized the formation of MCM to support the responsible commercialization of WVU’s rare earth element and critical mineral technology while enhancing the University’s national research profile. This action by the WVURC Board was also separately endorsed by the WVU Board of Governors.

MCM is a for-profit Delaware manager-managed Limited Liability Corporation governed by an independent Board of Directors. Day-to-day operations of MCM are led by an experienced executive team that reports to the MCM Board of Directors. Learn more at missioncriticalmaterials.com/leadership.

WVURC and MCM have entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement that includes eleven (11) invention families to patented and patent-pending AMDREE™ technologies, as well as a Services Agreement to accomplish ongoing collaboration for the advancement of AMDREE™ technologies to market. WVURC is currently the majority shareholder in MCM. Day-to-day operations by MCM are run independently.

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