Manchin Announces $5M for WVU Research Corporation Project to Produce Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals from Acid Mine Drainage

Charleston, WV – Today, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced that the West Virginia University (WVU) Research Corporation will receive $5,000,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop rare earth elements and critical mineral oxides from acid mine drainage. The project will help incentivize acid mine drainage treatment and develop a domestic supply chain of rare earth elements and critical minerals, which are needed to create advanced energy technologies. The funding is made possible by Chairman Manchin’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

“For far too long, the United States has been reliant on foreign nations that don’t share our values for the rare earth elements and critical minerals that are required to innovate and manufacture advanced energy technologies. This project at WVU Research Corporation proves that we can expand our domestic supply chain of these vital elements while making our communities safer, which will strengthen our energy grid, bolster our national security and bring new job opportunities to West Virginia,” said Chairman Manchin. 

For more information from the U.S. DOE on the project, click here.