What the old lead belt can teach Missouri about critical minerals mining

Nicole Smith, associate professor in mining engineering, says people who have lived around mining activity previously are "cautiously optimistic" about the impact of a new focus on critical minerals mining. She said boom and bust cycles and associated environmental degradation are a cause for the mixed feelings people have.
June 20, 2025

The Market Case for Methane Reductions

Simon Lomax, who leads the methane emissions reduction program at the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this guest column about why methane reductions are more than just good for the environment.
June 17, 2025

Denver sues Trump administration over funding pulled for nuclear detection program

Jeff King, professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, advised against cutting the counterterrorism program that provides nuclear and radiological detection equipment and training to protect against terrorist attacks.
June 16, 2025

Concerns Grow on How ‘Dirt Sciences’ Will Keep Attracting Talent

Jennifer Miskimins, professor and department head of petroleum engineering at Colorado School of Mines, discusses the challenges faced by U.S. universities in recruiting students to study petroleum engineering, geology, mining engineering and more.
June 12, 2025

Good samaritan program may deliver where mine cleanup has stalled

Column by Molly Morgan, PhD candidate in geology; Brad Handler, head of the Payne Institute’s Energy Finance Lab; and Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, details how The Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to issue up to 15 pilot permits that allow qualified third parties to clean up legacy mine pollution without assuming legal liability for contamination they did not cause.
June 11, 2025

‘Disruptions all over the place’ if today’s China talks fail

Rod Eggert, research professor of economics and business, says substitutes for magnets made from rare earth minerals are less efficient. China is the nearly exclusive source for these magnets.
June 10, 2025

Electric gridlock: Can the growing West’s infrastructure evolve fast enough to keep the lights on?

Omid Beik, assistant professor, Electrical Engineering, is quoted in this article examining the state of the West's electrical grid.
June 8, 2025

The seabead is now a battlefield

Morgan Bazilian, director, Payne Institute for Public Policy, and Alex Gilbert, fellow with Payne, co-authored this analysis. They write that "the rules-based global order is under siege at sea."
June 4, 2025

Wrestler breaking barriers after life-changing accident

Less than two years after Electrical Engineering student Yahir Chairez-Salazar's was injured in a crash, he's back on the wrestling mat for the Orediggers. Chairez-Salazar lost his leg in the car accident, but not his desire to be competitive in wrestling.
June 3, 2025

The Quantum Imperative

Morgan Bazilian, director, Payne Institute for Public Policy, authored this column that argues quantum is critical to US tech leadership and that ignoring it risks economic, scientific, and national security setbacks.
June 2, 2025

Goldenite Corner: Two professors with local ties win prestigious national fellowships

Colorado School of Mines professor Jessica M. Smith and University of Washington-Bothell professor Nora Kenworthy — a Golden High School Class of 2000 graduate — were among this year’s recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship.
May 30, 2025

Trade war with China highlights auto sector’s need for rare-earth mineral supply

Ian Lange, professor of economics and business at Colorado School of Mines, explains why U.S. rare earth mining cannot compete with China's subsidized production.
May 28, 2025