Imagine finding essential battery materials in a common mineral and reducing atmospheric CO2 as a side benefit. Imagine finding a source of these necessary materials without the need to negotiate with China or enrich those who employ child labor for their wealth. Good News Network (not as Pollyanish as it may sound) featured a picture of a young woman working in a laboratory and the headline, “Chemical Process Produces Critical Battery Metals From This Unloved Mineral With No Waste.” Often, material other than the sought-for material is the largest amount of stuff removed from a mine. Its worth is usually low because the labor and time involved in extracting any usable minerals is too great for the profits that might be realized. This seems to be changing with a New Zealand firm called Aspiring Materials. Good News took its lead from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which featured Aspiring Materials in its journal, IEEE Spectrum. That journal …
