Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
Critical minerals are the 56 non-fuel minerals the US government considers essential to its economy and security, including lithium, cobalt and uranium. Trout Unlimited's report maps them against fish habitat and finds that roughly half of known US deposits sit in coldwater trout and salmon habitat, and about one in ten in currently protected public lands.
Ty Churchwell is the mining coordinator for Trout Unlimited's Colorado public lands program, working on federal mining policy and abandoned mine cleanup from Durango, Colorado.
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What counts as a critical mineral?
The US Department of the Interior defines a critical mineral as a non-fuel mineral essential to the economic and national security of the United States, whose supply chain is vulnerable to disruption and whose absence would carry significant consequences. Fifty-six elements meet that definition on the current federal list. Lithium, cobalt, aluminum, uranium and the rare earth elements are among them, and they run modern life: batteries and renewable energy storage, phones, laptops, electric cars, and military applications from naval fuel to precision guided weapons.
How dependent is the United States on imported critical minerals?
The United States is import reliant for 35 of the listed critical minerals and completely reliant on foreign sources for 14 of them, with China a dominant supplier. Cobalt is the clearest example: much of the American supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country with an unstable government and documented labor concerns including child labor. Ty Churchwell's point is that the countries filling the gap frequently lack the environmental and labor laws the United States requires at home, so importing does not avoid the harm, it exports it.
How close are critical mineral deposits to trout and salmon water?
Starting in mid-2019, Trout Unlimited took existing US Geological Survey deposit data and overlaid it in GIS with trout and salmon habitat and public land boundaries, a comparison nobody had run before. Of the 822 mapped deposits, roughly half sit within coldwater habitat for trout and salmon, and roughly one in ten sit inside currently protected public lands. The concentration is heaviest in the western United States, which is also where most of the country's remaining intact coldwater fisheries are.
What is being proposed that worries Trout Unlimited?
Trout Unlimited agrees with parts of the federal approach, including recycling and better extraction technology, but two proposals concern the organization. One is weakening existing environmental laws to streamline permitting and get mines approved faster. The other is opening protected public lands, including designated wilderness areas that are currently closed to mining, where critical mineral deposits happen to sit underneath.
Why does Trout Unlimited say the country cannot mine its way out of this?
Ty Churchwell repeats the point directly: new mines alone will not solve a supply chain problem this size. Recycling minerals already in circulation, and recovering minerals from waste rock at existing abandoned mine sites, are both part of the answer, alongside advances in processing technology. Where new mining genuinely is needed, Trout Unlimited's position is that with 822 mapped deposits to choose from, the country can pick the ones that are not sitting on top of trout habitat or protected land.
How many abandoned mines are still polluting western streams?
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates roughly half a million abandoned hardrock mines across the western United States, and about 40 percent of headwater streams in the West carry impacts from historic mining. Those mines were dug between the late 1800s and roughly World War II, before any environmental law existed. The 2015 Gold King Mine incident, in which an EPA remediation project released about 3 million gallons of contaminated water into the Animas River above Durango, Colorado, is the most visible example, and Ty Churchwell leads the citizen engagement side of that Superfund cleanup.
What policy changes is Trout Unlimited asking for?
Hardrock mining in the United States still operates under the General Mining Act of 1872, and Trout Unlimited argues a 21st century problem needs 21st century law. The report recommends placing a royalty on critical minerals and directing that revenue into a remediation fund for abandoned mine cleanup. Trout Unlimited is also pushing Good Samaritan legislation, which would create a legal mechanism for third-party groups to clean up abandoned mines without inheriting liability for pollution they did not cause. The organization frames the stakes economically too: hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation generate on the order of $800 billion a year.
Key takeaways
- Fifty-six elements are on the US critical minerals list; the country is import reliant for 35 of them and fully reliant on foreign sources for 14.
- Roughly half of the 822 mapped US critical mineral deposits sit in coldwater trout and salmon habitat; about one in ten sit in protected public lands.
- Recycling and recovering minerals from existing abandoned mine waste are alternatives to opening new ground, and Trout Unlimited wants them tried first.
- About half a million abandoned hardrock mines exist in the western US, and roughly 40 percent of western headwater streams show mining impacts.
- Hardrock mining still runs under the General Mining Act of 1872; Trout Unlimited wants a royalty on critical minerals funding abandoned mine cleanup.
- Good Samaritan legislation would let conservation groups clean up abandoned mines without taking on liability for the original pollution.
