US to counter China’s critical minerals dominance with ‘game-changing’ innovations

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 2 min read 100% complete by Xinmei ShenMarch 9, 2026 at 11:29 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

The US Department of Energy is pursuing innovations in electronic waste recycling, refining, and processing to challenge China's dominance in critical minerals. Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson highlighted advancements in recycling metals and materials, particularly from lithium-ion batteries ("black mass"), as a fast way to impact the supply chain. She also noted progress in technologies that allow for processing multiple types of critical minerals within the same flow sheet. These efforts aim to reduce US dependence on China, although experts acknowledge the challenge of reversing decades of Chinese monopolization in a short timeframe. The Department of Energy is working with corporate partners to develop these technologies.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Boulder, Colorado 30% Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation 40% Nathan Ratledge 50% Alta Resource Technologies 50% Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) ×260% Audrey Robertson ×270% Department of Energy ×270% China ×490% United States ×695%

Keywords

critical minerals 100% china dominance 90% recycling electronic waste 80% us innovation 70% refining and processing 70% supply chain 60% black mass 60% lithium-ion batteries 50% mineral separation technologies 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Positive

Score: 0.30

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

United States

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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critical minerals china dominance recycling electronic waste us innovation refining and processing supply chain black mass lithium-ion batteries mineral separation technologies

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