U.S. Critical Materials and Columbia University Sign Agreement to Advance Domestic Recovery of Defense-Critical Metals from Red Mud
U.S. Critical Materials Corp. (“USCM”) and Columbia University have signed a two-year Sponsored Research Agreement seeking to advance scientific pathways that enable the development of future U.S. production of gallium, scandium, titanium, and rare earth elements from red mud, a major byproduct of aluminum refining.
The United States is fully import-dependent for gallium and scandium, materials essential to secure communications, advanced semiconductors, directed-energy systems, hyper sonics, and next-generation aerospace platforms. The program, “Mud To Metal,” will be led by Greeshma Gadikota, Lenfest Earth Institute Professor of Climate Change at the Columbia Climate School, Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering at the Columbia Engineering School and Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at Columbia.
Exhibit A of the Agreement notes that red mud contains elevated concentrations of these metals and that the project aims to develop intensified recovery technologies and advance them toward potential field-scale deployment.
Consistent with the Agreement, USCM and Columbia will investigate red mud from various locations for characterization and process-development activities including from locations operated by Alcoa.
“Gallium and scandium are strategic choke points for the U.S. defense and aerospace industrial base,” said Harvey Kaye, Executive Chairman of US Critical Materials. “This agreement with Columbia positions us to build the scientific foundation for a future domestic supply.”
“Our team is focused on rigorous, environmentally responsible pathways for recovering critical metals from complex materials,” said Professor Greeshma Gadikota, Principal Investigator. “Red mud presents a significant opportunity to strengthen U.S. resource security through innovation.”
The program includes mineralogical characterization, ambient-temperature oxidative leaching, selective separations, co-recovery of titanium dioxide and iron oxide, and techno-economic and life-cycle modeling.
