II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5039 

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 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unearth Innovation 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MINERAL AND MINING INNOVATION INITIATIVE. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (2) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘initiative’’ means 

6 the mineral and mining innovation initiative estab7 lished under subsection (b). 

8 (3) MINING UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘‘mining 

9 university’’ means an institution of higher education 

10 (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) with a min12 ing, metallurgical, geological, or mineral engineering 

13 program accredited by the Accreditation Board for 

14 Engineering and Technology, Inc. 

15 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Energy. 

17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es19 tablish an initiative within the Department of Energy, the 

20 purposes of which are— 

21 (1) to support the research, development, de22 ployment, and commercialization of emerging tech23 nologies and practices suitable for responsibly identi24 fying, characterizing, mining, extracting, processing, 

25 and reprocessing the minerals required across mulVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5039.IS S5039

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1 tiple industries in the United States to advance do2 mestic mineral resources, economic growth, national 

3 security, and other goals, as determined by the Sec4 retary; 

5 (2) to accelerate the research, development, and 

6 integration of advanced technologies, data analytics, 

7 responsible mining and mineral recovery practices, 

8 advanced techniques for separation or processing fa9 cilities to minimize human impacts, and extractive 

10 processes intended to minimize environmental im11 pact, increase per-unit productivity, optimize re12 source utilization, and promote technology adapta13 tion, community engagement, and social acceptance 

14 of mining; and 

15 (3) to coordinate with the National Institute of 

16 Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for 

17 Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of Sur18 face Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and the 

19 Mine Safety and Health Administration of the De20 partment of Labor on safety and mining innovation. 

21 (c) DUTIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the initia23 tive, the Secretary, in coordination with the Sec24 retary of the Interior, shall identify, study, evaluate, 

25 test, and demonstrate hard rock mineral mining, unVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Sep 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5039.IS S5039

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1 conventional mineral recovery, and processing tech2 nologies and practices to improve— 

3 (A) identification of new potential domestic 

4 mineral resources and trends; 

5 (B) characterization and mapping of do6 mestic mineral resources; 

7 (C) statistical capabilities of the United 

8 States, with respect to domestic and global min9 eral resources; 

10 (D) environmental performance of mining 

11 and mineral recovery, including— 

12 (i) reducing air emissions and improv13 ing water management; 

14 (ii) improving energy efficiency; and 

15 (iii) minimizing tailings and other 

16 waste, mining footprint, and environmental 

17 impact; 

18 (E) efficiency and productivity of mining, 

19 mineral processing, and resource utilization; 

20 (F) data collection, analytics, and sharing; 

21 (G) mine safety; 

22 (H) mine reclamation, remediation, and 

23 reuse; 


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1 (I) community engagement, consultation 

2 with Indian Tribes, and social perception of 

3 mining; 

4 (J) emerging and new technologies for 

5 mineral recovery from unconventional sources; 

6 and 

7 (K) training and education for the mining 

8 workforce. 

9 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AREAS OF

10 FOCUS.—In carrying out the initiative, the Sec11 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of the In12 terior, shall focus research, development, deploy13 ment, and commercialization activities in areas re14 lated to— 

15 (A) mineral exploration, discovery, and 

16 characterization science and technology, includ17 ing— 

18 (i) geophysical surveys; 

19 (ii) geochemical surveys; 

20 (iii) uncrewed survey platforms, in21 cluding uncrewed aerial vehicles; 

22 (iv) proximal sensing, including auto23 matic spectroscopic scanning of drilling 

24 cores; 


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1 (v) characterizing mine waste, includ2 ing mine-influenced water; and 

3 (vi) other advanced technologies; 

4 (B) mineral production and mine remedi5 ation and closure, including— 

6 (i) advanced drilling, sampling, and 

7 extraction technologies; 

8 (ii) mine design, including innovations 

9 that maximize resource use, environmental 

10 benefit, and end uses of land; 

11 (iii) digital mining solutions; 

12 (iv) in-situ mineral recovery and other 

13 advanced extraction techniques; 

14 (v) processing techniques, including— 

15 (I) geometallurgy; 

16 (II) beneficiation; 

17 (III) extraction from increasingly 

18 low-grade ores and deeper mines; 

19 (IV) co-mineral and byproduct 

20 recovery; 

21 (V) multimineral refining; 

22 (VI) whole rock processing; and 

23 (VII) greenhouse gas reduction 

24 and sequestration; and 


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1 (vi) remediation techniques, includ2 ing— 

3 (I) reclamation; 

4 (II) tailings and waste manage5 ment; and 

6 (III) extraction and reprocessing 

7 of valued materials from waste on 

8 abandoned mine land and at active 

9 and inactive mine sites; 

10 (C) critical mineral recycling technologies, 

11 including battery recycling; 

12 (D) social acceptance of mining and min13 eral processes, technologies, and projects, in14 cluding— 

15 (i) research to identify perspectives 

16 and priorities of communities local to pro17 spective mining sites; 

18 (ii) research to identify strategies for 

19 community engagement and potential 

20 short-term and long-term benefits of min21 ing for local communities; 

22 (iii) research to provide socially-in23 formed technology research, design, and 

24 development priorities; 


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1 (iv) best practices for developing com2 munity benefit agreements and plans that 

3 address community priorities and mitigate 

4 potential environmental and economic 

5 harm that may result from mining; and 

6 (v) consultation and engagement with 

7 Indian Tribes; and 

8 (E) other research areas, as determined by 

9 the Secretary, to support the program. 

10 (3) AREAS OF FOCUS FOR REEVALUATION.— 

11 Not less frequently than once every 5 years, the Sec12 retary, in carrying out the initiative in coordination 

13 with the Secretary of the Interior, shall consult with 

14 representatives from academic institutions (including 

15 mining universities), National Laboratories, and the 

16 mining industry— 

17 (A) to reevaluate the status of, and oppor18 tunities for, mineral and mining research and 

19 development; and 

20 (B) to revise the list of areas described in 

21 paragraph (2)(E). 

22 (d) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

23 Secretary shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Inte24 rior through, at a minimum— 


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1 (1) interagency activities associated with the re2 search, development, deployment, and commer3 cialization of hard rock mining and unconventional 

4 mineral recovery technologies; 

5 (2) leveraging existing mineral research within 

6 Federal agencies; 

7 (3) engagement with industry, academia, and 

8 nongovernmental entities to identify innovation gaps 

9 and opportunities related to minerals and mining; 

10 (4) alignment of applied academic and Federal 

11 mineral and mining research and development with 

12 economic, energy, and national security needs; and 

13 (5) certification or validation of emerging tech14 nologies or best practices that demonstrate signifi15 cant economic, environmental, and security benefits, 

16 including resource optimization, environmental sus17 tainability, community engagement, and workforce 

18 development. 

19 (e) COLLABORATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

21 the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior may 

22 enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, or 

23 other arrangements, including partnerships, with 

24 academic, public, private, and nongovernmental enti25 ties located in the United States, any territory or 


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1 possession of the United States, or a country de2 scribed in subparagraph (B) or (C) of section 12(3) 

3 of the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling 

4 Act (50 U.S.C. 98h–3(3)). 

5 (2) PRIORITIZATION.—In carrying out para6 graph (1), the Secretary and the Secretary of the In7 terior shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

8 prioritize entering into cooperative agreements, con9 tracts, or other arrangements with academic institu10 tions, including mining universities. 

11 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

12 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary 

13 of the Interior shall submit to Congress a report describ14 ing the results of the duties carried out under subsection 

15 (c). 

16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

17 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

18 out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

19 through 2034, to remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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