Feature Stories
Virginia Tech Researchers Work Toward Sustainable Ways to Provide Minerals for New Technologies
February 27, 2023
Coal slurry. Fly ash. Incinerated garbage. Grass. What if these and other materials could be turned into electric cars, solar panels, and smartphones? Researchers in Virginia Tech’s Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering are working to give companies and innovators
Mining and Sustainability: Frenemies in the Fight for the Net-zero Economy
February 15, 2023
I was recently reminded that my enthusiastic perspective on the future of the mining industry is not universal. To some, mining remains a stodgy, dirty, low-tech industry and a formidable impediment to the net-zero economy. I disagree but, more importantly,
Look Back: Thirteen Coal Miners Entombed in Plymouth Mine
February 13, 2023
Miners were pulled from the No. 13 shaft at the Gaylord Mine in Plymouth as there appeared to be a squeeze on the pillars, an indication that a roof collapse was imminent. Thirteen men hauling and carrying timbers entered the
The Grid Crisis is a Certainty
January 12, 2023
The U.S. electricity grid is undeniably in crisis. As rolling blackouts over Christmas demonstrated, no corner of the country is immune. Regions that were supposed to be safe from power shortfalls found themselves unable to keep the lights on. Tens-of-millions
2022: The Year ESG Fell to Earth
January 5, 2023
The year 2022 brings an end to an era of illusions: a year that saw the end of the post–Cold War era and the return of geopolitics; the first energy crisis of the enforced energy transition to net zero; and
Let’s Take the Final Step to Reshore U.S. Mining for Battery Metals
January 5, 2023
The U.S. depends on China for more than half of the minerals and metals deemed critically important for our nation’s economic health and military readiness. While China has made mineral production and processing a strategic priority, the U.S. has done
Wyoming County in W.Va. Sitting in New Carbon Technology Sweet Spot
December 6, 2022
New technologies are creating a new era in the coal industry and Wyoming County seems to be sitting in the sweet spot. For generations, the waste from coal has been abandoned in sludge ponds, gob piles, and impoundments across Wyoming
The Carbon Capture Race is Heating Up in Nebraska
November 30, 2022
A company that’s building infrastructure for a carbon-neutral future is betting billions on a business based in Nebraska and the Corn Belt. Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, now has company in the form of Navigator CO2, which is relocating
Incoherent Energy Policy Worsens the Inflation Outlook
November 29, 2022
Most of the exit polls from the midterm elections found that, not surprisingly, the state of the economy — especially inflation — remains a top concern for most voters. Unfortunately, high inflation is likely to continue for the foreseeable future,
W.Va. Senator Capito: Biden Takes His Failed Climate Crusade Worldwide
November 14, 2022
The damage done by President Biden’s anti-energy policies is no secret to working families across the United States. How we got here is plain to see for those who now pay higher utility bills and put more expensive gas in
