Hill looks to bolster Trump on minerals executive order

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, discusses how the administration could take action on its own.
March 26, 2025

Trade-offs of the green transition: Is mining critical minerals better than extracting fossil fuels?

Raphael Deberdt, a postdoctoral researcher in mining engineering, explains how the current economic system incentivizes resource extraction over reuse and reduction of resource consumption.
March 26, 2025

How China Beat Out the U.S. to Become the Top Player in Rare-Earths Refining

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, discusses the challenge posed by China's dominance in the processing and refining of ores.
March 24, 2025

Will I-80 ever be fixed? What we know after collapsed mines cause 3 sinkholes.

Paul Santi, professor of geology and geological engineering, talks about the varied causes of sinkholes.
March 24, 2025

Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth?

Ian Lange, associate professor of economics and business, explains that we're only currently able to estimate the technological hurdles of asteroid mining.
March 23, 2025

Copper prices are typically a leading economic indicator. But maybe not this time.

Ian Lange, associate professor of economics and business, explains how the threat of tariffs are driving copper prices.
March 21, 2025

First Atlantic Nickel and Colorado School of Mines launch research partnership to explore geologic hydrogen potential in Newfoundland ophiolites

Yaoguo Li, professor of Geophysics, discusses how Mines has a unique combination of expertise from both the mining industry and oil and gas industry to advance geologic hydrogen exploration and stimulated hydrogen monitoring.
March 19, 2025

How much will the U.S. energy mix change under Trump? Maybe not much.

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about how a new presidential administration's focus is likely, or not likely, to have a longterm impact on how we use and produce energy, or protect the environment. Bazilian says the longterm change is likely to be small because of the immense size of the industry.
March 17, 2025

Mines establishes guaranteed admissions pathway for Jeffco students

Paul C. Johnson, Mines president, is quoted in this article about Mines' new program guaranteeing admission for Jeffco students who meet specific criteria. Johnson notes that by providing a guaranteed admissions pathway, Mines is ensuring that Jeffco students who demonstrate excellence in STEM have the opportunity to pursue a world-class education while staying close to home.
March 17, 2025

Colorado Matters: Mining politics and policy

Morgan Bazilian, director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy, discusses with Colorado Matters Host Ryan Warner why the whole world seems to be focused on critical minerals at this time. Bazilian notes that agencies and countries have their own critical minerals lists, and the lists vary.
March 17, 2025

School of Mines partnering with Jeffco Schools to provide pathway to STEM students

Golden High School students enrolled in a senior capstone class discuss their work and Mines' newly announced program to guarantee Jefferson County high school students admission to Mines if they meet specific criteria. Completing a senior capstone class meets part of the requirements for guaranteed admission.
March 17, 2025

The unexpected knock-on effect of Trump's minerals 'deal of the century'

Elizabeth Holley, associate professor of mining engineering, explains that each nation has its own list of critical minerals, but they are generally made up of rare earths and other metals like lithium. She says demand is booming - in 2023, demand for lithium grew by 30%. This is being driven mostly by the rapid growth in the clean energy and electric vehicle sectors.
March 13, 2025