Here’s a source for critical minerals — hiding in plain sight

Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, and Priscilla Nelson, professor of mining engineering, co-authored this guest column on their study that revealed the U.S. could obtain nearly all the critical minerals it needs through the re-processing of mine waste.
September 1, 2025

Q&A with 2026 SPE President Jennifer Miskimins: energizing tomorrow: solutions, people, energy

Jennifer Miskimins, professor of petroleum engineering and department head of earth and society programs, is interviewed about her perspective as incoming president of the Society of Petroleum Engineering.
September 1, 2025

Quantum campus opens in Arvada, Colorado unveils new job board

Quantum Commons, owned by Colorado School of Mines, opens in Arvada. At a ceremony attended by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, officials from the corporate park unveiled a new job board focused on quantum-focused positions.
August 30, 2025

A Colorado manufactured home community is getting more energy efficient

Paulo Tabares-Velasco, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has partnered on an effort to make 16 manufactured homes in Lake County, Colorado more energy efficient. Tabares-Velasco's team installed heat pumps and induction stoves, which run on electricity instead of fossil fuels.
August 29, 2025

Campus for Colorado’s quantum tech hub begins to power up

Paul C. Johnson, Mines president, is quoted about the opening of the Quantum Commons campus in Arvada. Mines owns and operates the business park where quantum companies can set up their operations.
August 29, 2025

Unrecovered byproducts from US mines could meet the country’s demand for dozens of critical materials

A study led by Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, is the focus of this article. Holley's study, originally published in the journal Science, focused on the critical minerals that exist in the waste streams of U.S. mining operations.
August 29, 2025

Xcel Energy's transition from coal will add 5,000 megawatts but could cost $7.5 billion

Maxwell Brown, assistant teaching professor in economics and business, and Angeline Letourneau, visiting teaching assistant professor in humanities, arts and social sciences, are interviewed about Xcel Energy's plans and how they could impact the utility's customers' bills.
August 29, 2025

These materials could cripple America’s defense industrial base

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, co-authors this column looking at the role critical minerals play in the defense arena.
August 28, 2025

A moon rover is driving around a ranch in southern Colorado. Here’s why.

Angel Abbud-Madrid, professor of practice in mechanical engineering and the director of the Center for Space Resources, discusses the university's involvement with the development of a moon rover. The rover has been tested in a lab at Mines that contains simulated moon dirt, called lunar regolith.
August 26, 2025

The energy workforce shortage could slow future growth

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, notes a significant shortage of skilled workers in the energy, infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, advanced technology, and mining sectors could slow growth.
August 26, 2025

Useful metals get unearthed in U.S. mines, then they’re tossed

Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, is quoted about her study, published in the journal Science. The study examined the critical minerals that exist in mine waste being generated by mining operations in the U.S.
August 26, 2025

Time-honored tradition continues for Colorado School of Mines freshmen

Freshmen and new graduate students to Mines carried on the tradition of bringing 10-pound rocks from their homes and placing them in the "M" that resides on Mount Zion. Stefani Tompkins, new Mines provost, is interviewed about the significance of the three-mile hike up to the mountain that happens at the beginning of every fall semester.
August 23, 2025