The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management released an expression of interest seeking input from American industry on transferring surplus critical minerals, rare earth elements and other materials from five cleanup sites across the country.
The materials—including aluminum, cesium-137, copper, fluorine, lead, lithium hydride, platinum, selenium, silver, tungsten and vanadium—resulted from past nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored energy research. No longer needed for planned DOE activities, they may be valuable to private industry in advanced technology, manufacturing, alternative energy and national defense applications, according to the agency.
The five participating cleanup sites are located in Paducah, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; the Nevada National Security Site; and Moab, Utah.
"The surplus materials at our sites could help put American resources to work for American industry by supporting jobs, strengthening our industrial base and advancing the administration's energy and national security priorities," said Rob Seifert, EM Infrastructure, Disposition and Regulatory Policy Director.
The DOE will host a virtual Industry Day on September 30 to explain the process and discuss market demand and industrial capabilities for processing or using the materials. Interested parties must provide their own equipment and expertise for any material relocation or extraction. The DOE will evaluate responses based on demonstrated technical knowledge and the quality of proposed use plans.