119-s598

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 598 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 598

 To establish a mineral and mining innovation program within the 
 Department of Energy to advance domestic mineral resources, economic 
 growth, and national security, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 13, 2025

Mr. Hickenlooper (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish a mineral and mining innovation program within the 
 Department of Energy to advance domestic mineral resources, economic 
 growth, and national security, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Unearth Innovation Act''.

SEC. 2. MINERAL AND MINING INNOVATION INITIATIVE.

    (a) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
 meaning given the term in 

section 4 of the Indian Self-
 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).

    (2) Initiative.--The term ``initiative'' means the mineral 
 and mining innovation initiative established under subsection

    (b) .

    (3) Mining university.--The term ``mining university'' 
 means an institution of higher education (as defined in 

section 101

    (a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001

    (a) )) 
 with a mining, metallurgical, geological, or mineral 
 engineering program accredited by the Accreditation Board for 
 Engineering and Technology, Inc.

    (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Energy.

    (b) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an initiative 
within the Department of Energy, the purposes of which are--

    (1) to support the research, development, deployment, and 
 commercialization of emerging technologies and practices 
 suitable for responsibly identifying, characterizing, mining, 
 extracting, processing, recycling, and reprocessing the 
 minerals required across multiple industries in the United 
 States to advance domestic mineral resources, circularity, 
 economic growth, national security, and other goals, as 
 determined by the Secretary;

    (2) to accelerate the research, development, and 
 integration of advanced technologies, data analytics, 
 responsible mining and mineral recovery practices, advanced 
 techniques for separation or processing facilities to minimize 
 human impacts, and extractive processes intended to minimize 
 environmental impact, increase per-unit productivity, optimize 
 resource utilization, and promote technology adaptation, 
 community engagement, and social acceptance of mining; and

    (3) to coordinate with the National Institute of 
 Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for Disease 
 Control and Prevention, the Office of Surface Mining 
 Reclamation and Enforcement, and the Mine Safety and Health 
 Administration of the Department of Labor on safety and mining 
 innovation.
            (c) Duties.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out the initiative, the 
 Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, 
 shall identify, study, evaluate, test, and demonstrate hard 
 rock mineral mining, unconventional mineral recovery, refining, 
 and processing technologies and practices to improve--
        (A) identification of new potential domestic 
 mineral resources and trends;
        (B) characterization and mapping of domestic 
 mineral resources;
            (C) statistical capabilities of the United States, 
 with respect to domestic and global mineral resources;
            (D) environmental performance of mining and mineral 
 recovery, including--
            (i) reducing air emissions and improving 
 water management;
            (ii) improving energy efficiency; and
            (iii) minimizing tailings and other waste, 
 mining footprint, and environmental impact;
        (E) efficiency and productivity of mining, 
 including co-mineral and byproduct recovery, mineral 
 processing, and resource utilization;
        (F) data collection, analytics, and sharing;
        (G) mine safety;
        (H) mine reclamation, remediation, and reuse;
            (I) community engagement, consultation with Indian 
 Tribes, and social perception of mining;
        (J) emerging and new technologies for mineral 
 recovery from unconventional sources;
        (K) training and education for the mining 
 workforce; and
            (L) the usable lifespan of products containing 
 critical minerals through reuse, repurposing, and 
 repairability.

    (2) Research and development areas of focus.--In carrying 
 out the initiative, the Secretary, in coordination with the 
 Secretary of the Interior, shall focus research, development, 
 deployment, and commercialization activities in areas related 
 to--
        (A) mineral exploration, discovery, and 
 characterization science and technology, including--
            (i) geophysical surveys;
            (ii) geochemical surveys;
            (iii) uncrewed survey platforms, including 
 uncrewed aerial vehicles;
            (iv) proximal sensing, including automatic 
 spectroscopic scanning of drilling cores;
            (v) characterizing mine waste, including 
 mine-influenced water; and
            (vi) other advanced technologies;
        (B) mineral production and mine remediation and 
 closure, including--
            (i) advanced drilling, sampling, and 
 extraction technologies;
            (ii) mine design, including innovations 
 that maximize resource use, environmental 
 benefit, and end uses of land;
            (iii) digital mining solutions;
            (iv) in-situ mineral recovery and other 
 advanced extraction techniques;
            (v) processing techniques, including--
            (I) geometallurgy;
            (II) beneficiation;
            (III) extraction from increasingly 
 low-grade ores and deeper mines;
            (IV) co-mineral and byproduct 
 recovery;
            (V) multimineral refining;
            (VI) whole rock processing; and
            (VII) greenhouse gas reduction and 
 sequestration; and
            (vi) remediation techniques, including--
            (I) reclamation;
            (II) tailings and waste management; 
 and
            (III) extraction and reprocessing 
 of valued materials from waste on 
 abandoned mine land and at active and 
 inactive mine sites;
            (C) critical mineral recycling technologies, 
 including battery recycling;
            (D) social acceptance of mining and mineral 
 processes, technologies, and projects, including--
            (i) research to identify perspectives and 
 priorities of communities local to prospective 
 mining sites;
            (ii) research to identify strategies for 
 community engagement and potential short-term 
 and long-term benefits of mining for local 
 communities;
            (iii) research to provide socially-informed 
 technology research, design, and development 
 priorities;
            (iv) best practices for developing 
 community benefit agreements and plans that 
 address community priorities and mitigate 
 potential environmental and economic harm that 
 may result from mining; and
            (v) consultation and engagement with Indian 
 Tribes; and
        (E) other research areas, as determined by the 
 Secretary, to support the program.

    (3) Areas of focus for reevaluation.--Not less frequently 
 than once every 5 years, the Secretary, in carrying out the 
 initiative in coordination with the Secretary of the Interior, 
 shall consult with Indian Tribes, representatives from academic 
 institutions (including mining universities), National 
 Laboratories, and the mining industry--
        (A) to reevaluate the status of, and opportunities 
 for, mineral and mining research and development; and
        (B) to revise the list of areas described in 
 paragraph

    (2)
        (E) .
            (d) Coordination.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary 
shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior through, at a 
minimum--

    (1) interagency activities associated with the research, 
 development, deployment, and commercialization of hard rock 
 mining and unconventional mineral recovery technologies;

    (2) leveraging existing mineral research within Federal 
 agencies;

    (3) engagement with industry, academia, Indian Tribes, and 
 nongovernmental entities to identify innovation gaps and 
 opportunities related to minerals and mining;

    (4) alignment of applied academic and Federal mineral and 
 mining research and development with economic, energy, and 
 national security needs; and

    (5) certification or validation of emerging technologies or 
 best practices that demonstrate significant economic, 
 environmental, and security benefits, including resource 
 optimization, environmental sustainability, community 
 engagement, and workforce development; and

    (e) Collaboration.--

    (1) In general.--In carrying out this section, the 
 Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior may enter into 
 cooperative agreements, contracts, or other arrangements, 
 including partnerships, with Indian Tribes and academic, 
 public, private, and nongovernmental entities located in the 
 United States, any territory or possession of the United 
 States, or a country described in subparagraph
        (B) or
            (C) of 
 

section 12

    (3) of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock 
 Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98h-3

    (3) ).

    (2) Prioritization.--In carrying out paragraph

    (1) , the 
 Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall, to the 
 maximum extent practicable, prioritize entering into 
 cooperative agreements, contracts, or other arrangements with 
 academic institutions, including mining universities.

    (f) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 
to Congress a report describing the results of the duties carried out 
under subsection
            (c) .

    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $100,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035, to remain available until 
expended.
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