Inside the Colorado School of Mines student research shaping the future of critical minerals
Mineral and Energy Economics students are delving into topics from geopolitics and supply chain risks to artisanal mining and responsible sourcing
Every year, Colorado’s Climax Mine, pictured here, produces approximately 30 million pounds of molybdenum, a critical mineral essential for manufacturing the high-strength steel used in many modern technologies.
Addressing the complex challenges surrounding critical minerals requires an approach that spans economics, geopolitics and sustainable development.
Mines student researchers in the Mineral and Energy Economics program — the only graduate program of its kind in the U.S. — are investigating key questions to provide actionable insights that inform policies and strategies that promote responsible sourcing, transparency and stability in the global critical minerals landscape.
Q: How do geopolitical tensions and trade dependencies affect the resilience of global mineral supply chains, and what policies can help mitigate these vulnerabilities?
The research: Elif Bozkurt and other Mines graduate students are exploring the geopolitical risks and economic implications of critical mineral supply chains. As part of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub and in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, the project examines how international trade dynamics and policy shifts impact the accessibility and affordability of critical minerals essential to alternative energy technologies.
The impact: The project builds an understanding of supply risks and offers policy-relevant insights to guide more resilient sourcing, extraction and recycling strategies vital to the sustainable development of clean energy infrastructure and national resource security.
Q: What is the long-term availability of critical minerals, what are the potential impacts of supply chain disruptions on key economic sectors and local communities, and to what extent are dominant players exercising market power over select materials?
The research: Researchers such as PhD candidate Sangita Gayatri Kannan work through the Critical Minerals Innovation Hub on projects evaluating the long-term availability of lithium, regional differences and strategies to address critical mineral supply chain risks, and local economic effects of mining in the United States, among others.
The impact: This work intersects mineral economics, public policy and critical minerals manufacturing. The insights gained from this research can inform public policy to build more resilient critical mineral supply chains.
Q: How important are small-scale and artisanal miners to Zambia's production of key minerals like copper, cobalt and manganese, and how can this be quantified amid poor reporting?
The research: Mines student researchers, such as graduate student Grace Akinyi, are focusing on Zambia’s underreported production levels of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) copper, manganese and cobalt and their role in national critical mineral output. Using secondary government data and estimation techniques, they aim to quantify ASM’s contribution and produce an open data model.
The impact: The project addresses a key blind spot in Zambia's critical minerals approach. In 2022, ASM formally contributed only 3.8 percent of copper despite representing a high proportion of mining rights. Unlocking ASM’s value chain is essential for diversifying and securing global energy transition supply chains, attracting investment through improved traceability and formalization, and facilitating inclusive growth by mainstreaming ASM in national development plans.
Q: Why is sourcing some critical minerals—such as chromium, tantalite, tin and tungsten—often opaque and unstable, and what does this reveal about the need for responsible sourcing and supply chain stability?
The research: PhD researchers like Clarkson Kamurai are conducting research coordinated by Mines’ Mineral and Energy Economics program and the Payne Institute for Public Policy—supported by the Quadrature Climate Foundation—that studies critical mineral supply in resource-rich countries. Their work explores socioeconomic impacts of extraction and processing, identifies policy and regulatory challenges and considers how Western Hemisphere demand can support responsible sourcing and more sustainable, transparent supply chains.
The impact: Illicit trade and opaque markets disrupt supply chains, especially for newer or niche minerals, hindering transparency and fair trade. This work helps inform policy and regulation decisions to mitigate these challenges.
Q: What is the economic impact of artisanal miners?
The research: Mines student researchers like Christian Briones study the economic impact of artisanal miners in countries such as Chile, Zambia and Indonesia. Each country has its own unique context, and this research aims to better understand how artisanal mining—often involving critical minerals like copper—contributes to the local and national economies.
The impact: Artisanal miners play a meaningful role in society. This research provides a deeper understanding of the often underappreciated economic contributions and impact of their work.
Leaders at the intersection of economics and energy
As demand for critical minerals grows, so does the need for experts who can navigate markets, assess supply-chain risks and help inform effective policy. Mines’ Mineral and Energy Economics program equips students with the resource economics expertise and the skills to balance technical, economic and geopolitical realities. Graduates help inform effective decisions across government, industry and international development, securing reliable, responsible critical minerals essential for the energy transition and advanced technologies.
Mines is driving strategies to keep critical minerals accessible, sustainable and aligned with national security and economic priorities. Learn more about how we're preparing the experts who make it possible on the Mineral and Energy Economics program website.
Explore more of how Mines is leading innovation in critical minerals at mines.edu/critical-minerals-research.
About Mines
Colorado School of Mines is a public R1 research university focused on applied science and engineering, producing the talent, knowledge and innovations to serve industry and benefit society – all to create a more prosperous future.
