This Sixth Amended Determination follows the approval of additional funding, extended period of performance, and additional project milestones to support the project team's small-scale research and development activities to use and recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) to extract energy-relevant minerals, including nickel and magnesium, from iron- and aluminum-rich ore through carbonation with CO2, in progress under the Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery (MINER) program.
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
July 7, 2026
Estimated Read Time min
This Sixth Amended Determination follows the approval of additional funding, extended period of performance, and additional project milestones to support the project team's small-scale research and development activities to use and recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) to extract energy-relevant minerals, including nickel and magnesium, from iron- and aluminum-rich ore through carbonation with CO2, in progress under the Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resource Recovery (MINER) program. Specifically, the project team will
- expand the mineral extraction process to recover additional mineral materials, and
- test and validate the recovery efficiency of the extraction process for new materials to meet project metrics.
If successful, this project will decrease energy use in mineral processing and increase the yield of energy-relevant minerals, ultimately reducing dependence on foreign energy and mineral sources, thereby increasing U.S. energy security.