Every time you use your phone, open your computer or listen to your favorite music on AirPods, you are relying on critical minerals. These materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life.

For the first time in 70 years, “the United States opened a rare earth mine,” reports RealClearInvestigation’s James Varney. “Ramaco’s Brook Mine in Ranchester,” Wyo., is “part of a critical effort to ...

Coal mines are notorious sources of acid mine drainage, but the orange sludge that threatens water supplies and wildlife also ...

Miners work at the D4 Gakombe coltan quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa) RUBAYA, Congo (AP) — Nestled in the green hills of Masisi ...

Western North Carolina offers several locations for gem mining and exploration. Emerald Village, near Spruce Pine, allows visitors to dig for gems and go underground. Other popular spots in and around ...

Every time you use your phone, open your computer or listen to your favorite music on AirPods, you are relying on critical minerals. These materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life.

RUBAYA, Congo — Nestled in the green hills of Masisi territory in Congo, the artisanal Rubaya mining site hums with the sound of generators, as hundreds of men labor by hand to extract coltan, a key ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Yuanzhi Tang, Georgia Institute of Technology and Scott McWhorter, Georgia Institute ...