Critical Mineral Refining Facility at Falkirk Coal Mine

planned

The University of North Dakota plans to build a refining facility at the Falkirk coal mine near Underwood to extract critical minerals needed for electronics from lignite coal. The project aims to expand the current pilot plant operations and create a commercial demonstration site that is about 10% the size of a full-scale facility. The facility will process coal to extract a mix of 17 different critical minerals, which can be further separated and used in electronics. The project seeks a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and has an estimated total cost of about $100 million. The design and construction phase is expected to take 18 to 24 months, with operations potentially starting by 2029.