Critical minerals are mineral commodities identified as essential for advanced technologies and economic or national security functions, and which face elevated risk of supply disruption due to geological scarcity, concentrated production, geopolitical constraints, or complex value chains. Scientifically, they are defined not by intrinsic geochemical properties but by their role in enabling key materials systems, such as high-performance magnets, battery chemistries, catalysts, semiconductors, and specialized alloys. Research on critical minerals emphasizes ore genesis, mineral processing, substitution strategies, recycling, life-cycle assessment, and supply-risk modeling to ensure resilient access to these inputs for low-carbon energy systems, defense applications, and advanced manufacturing.
Fertilizers are not just an agricultural input: they are a strategic resource hidden at the center of geopolitical conflict. The US and Israel's war on Iran and the related disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz ...
Agriculture
May 21, 2026
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11
Within the Canadian Shield, hydrogen gas is steadily building up naturally among some of the oldest rocks on Earth. Now, for the first time, geochemists at the University of Toronto and the University of Ottawa have measured ...
Earth Sciences
May 18, 2026
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A new study shows that a single radioactive cloud was responsible for a large share of the nuclear fallout during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 11 March 2011. The work is published in the Journal of Hazardous ...
Environment
May 12, 2026
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18
There's increasing interest in deep-sea mining, but the impacts that this will have on the animals that live in the depths isn't fully understood. A new review led by our scientists is giving us our first insight into how ...
Plants & Animals
May 5, 2026
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21
The southern Appalachians hold an estimated 1.43 million metric tons of lithium oxide, concentrated in the Carolinas, and the northern Appalachians hold an estimated 900,000 metric tons, concentrated in Maine and New Hampshire, ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 30, 2026
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34
There is a troubling contradiction at the heart of the global transition to a cleaner, greener, tech-driven future: Modern technologies—everything from AI to wind turbines, as well as cellphones, electric vehicles and defense ...
Environment
Apr 29, 2026
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19
Perched on the bow of his long-tail fishing boat, 75-year-old Sukjai Yana untangled a handful of small fish from his net, disappointed by his catch and fretting over whether he can sell them.
Environment
Apr 29, 2026
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12
Mining critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt fuels the "green" energy and digital transitions essential to meeting climate goals. But building the technologies that enable a sustainable future is generating severe, ...
Environment
Apr 29, 2026
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25
To ensure a robust domestic supply chain in the U.S., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are using bacterial proteins to separate the rare-earth elements that are ubiquitous in magnets, batteries, and ...
Biotechnology
Apr 22, 2026
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14
A common mineral hiding in plain sight could hold the key to making copper production cleaner, faster and more efficient, just as global demand for the metal surges to power the energy transition. In an article published ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 15, 2026
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