Rare Earth and Critical Minerals in Alaska

Rare Earth and Critical Minerals in Alaska

Exploring Alaska’s potential to meet national needs

The University of Alaska is working to reduce our nation’s reliance on imported Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (REE-CM) by establishing Alaska’s resources as competitive sources of supply through research and technology development.

Guided by industry, INE is investigating opportunities to create high-value, non-fuel products from carbon ores with a strong emphasis on environmental safeguards. Developing new mineral resources in a state with distinctive challenges aligns with INE's mission of finding newer, more efficient extraction and processing methods while decreasing associated environmental disturbance.

Alaska CORE-CM

With funding through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and with a significant investment from the State of Alaska, the University of Alaska is one of 13 Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) centers established by the U.S. Department of Energy. We are working closely with the Alaska Division of Geologic and Geophysical Survey to perform a set of broad basinal assesments of critical minerals in Alaska.

For more details on the Alaska CORE-CM project, please visit akminerals.alaska.edu or
contact project manager Brent Sheets at brent.sheets@alaska.edu | (907) 750-0650