Critical Minerals Nexus: Geosciences, Engineering and Policy (Spring 2026)
Critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements are essential to technologies that power modern economies, including renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, communications infrastructure and national defense technologies. As global demand rises, supply chains for these minerals are increasingly strained and geographically concentrated, raising concerns about economic security, environmental impacts and responsible sourcing.
This project collaborated with the Duke Critical Minerals Hub to begin developing a Critical Minerals Index (CMI), an interactive data platform designed to integrate geoscience, engineering, environmental and policy information across the life cycle of key critical minerals. The index is intended to help researchers, policymakers and industry better understand the multidimensional factors shaping mineral supply, extraction and processing.
Team members from environmental science, policy, geoscience and engineering worked together to design the methodological framework for the index. Students organized into three working groups focused on the geology and spatial distribution of nickel deposits; the environmental, economic and regulatory conditions of nickel mining; and the policy and supply chain dynamics shaping nickel production and processing. Together, the teams developed an initial structure and methodology for the index, using nickel as a pilot case that will inform the expansion of the platform to additional critical minerals in future years.
In addition to research activities, students engaged with critical minerals issues through experiential learning opportunities. These included a field visit to a lithium mine in North Carolina, discussions with faculty affiliated with the Duke Critical Minerals Hub and engagement with the author of The War Below, a book examining global competition over critical mineral resources.
Timing
Fall 2025 – Spring 2026
Team Outputs
Methodology for Critical Minerals Index (pilot framework using nickel)
Bibliography and compiled data sources for nickel deposits, supply chains and regulatory context
Student book reflections on The War Below
Field visit to North Carolina lithium mine
Manuscript in progress
See related team, Critical Minerals Nexus: Geosciences, Engineering and Policy (2026–2027)