Demand for rare elements used in clean energy could help clean up abandoned coal mines in Appalachia

In the hills of West Virginia, researchers are hoping to realize a long-term dream of cleaning up poisonous groundwaters that flow out of old coal mines. They've long wanted to do this to address pollution in waterways, but now there's another reason: They have pioneered methods for extracting rare earth minerals and other valuable metals from the drainage, and every pound or ton is one that isn't extracted from a new mine in the United States or bought from China. The Department of Energy is funding the project in West Virginia now, along with another one at lignite mines in North Dakota that it could expand to commercial scale enterprises.