The following article appeared in the latest Anthracite Report by the Pennsylvania Anthracite Council--

Wyoming startup company Firepoint Energy is looking to Pennsylvania waste coal piles as a source to recover Rare Earth Elements (REE).

Firepoint, A Wyoming C-Corp, has opened principal offices in Erie, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Firepoint Energy president Bill Smith recently spent time in the Pennsylvania Capital of Harrisburg meeting with state representatives about his company and their proposal to utilize waste coal as a source of REE and even for the manufacturing of jet fuel.

"Now, we can use these waste piles to help produce jet fuel and even recover rare earth minerals, which can reduce our reliance on China," Smith said.

Samples of waste coal from sites across Pennsylvania were tested by Conti Labs in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. 

The results of those tests prove that the waste coal piles potentially contain more than $100 billion worth of rare earth elements, along with the valuable minerals lithium, manganese and aluminum.

Similar to REEs, all three of those minerals-- lithium, manganese and aluminum-- have been declared critical to the US economy and national security.

Firepoint Energy is a newly founded startup seeking to capitalize on the rare earth elements located in Pennsylvania and other states with long traditions and histories in the commercial mining industry.

The Firepont Energy team has been involved in the plasma gasification industry for several years, and they now seek to use that technology and others to harvest the billions of dollars' worth of rare earth elements presently lying unused on the ground.

Firepoint Energy is currently raising the capital to develop waste-coal-to-energy sites and mineral processing centers across Pennsylvania.

The investment in the initial site will be in the $100 million range, with some sites costing as much as $4 billion to build.

Investment in these projects is expected to generate thousands of new jobs.

For more information, you can visit Firepoint's website.

Resource Links:

-- Penn State Team Awarded US DOE Grant To Develop Extraction & Recovery Technologies For Rare Earth, Other Critical Materials From Coal, Coal Wastes, Acid Mine Drainage  [PaEN]

-- Penn State’s Center For Critical Minerals To Receive $2.1 Million Grant To Build Pilot Plant To Recover Rare Earth Elements, Other Critical Minerals From Acid Mine Drainage   [PaEN]

-- Penn State Center For Critical Minerals Develops New Process To Extract Rare Earth Oxides From Abandoned Mine Drainages, Sludges  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Calls For Taking Next Step To Demonstrate Technology For Recovery Of Rare Earth & Critical Minerals From Mine Drainage, Coal Refuse - Build A Processing Facility  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Seize The Rare Opportunity To Resolve Toxic Mine Drainage - By Robert Hughes, Eastern PA Coalition For Abandoned Mine Reclamation  [PaEN]

-- New Sensor Can Detect Valuable Rare Earth Elements In Mine Drainage, Other Non-Traditional Sources  [PaEN]

-- U.S. Dept. Of Energy Awards $1.95 Million For Conceptual Designs For Rare Earth Mineral Extraction From Coal Sources, Including 4 PA Projects  [PaEN]

[Posted: June 3, 2024]

6/10/2024