A regional consortium led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University, in collaboration with the Georgia Mining Association, will host an inaugural workshop on Georgia partnerships for Essential Minerals (GEMs).

The one-day workshop is planned for Thursday, Feb. 1, at the University of Georgia Hotel and Conference Center and is expected to be the first in a series of critical mineral conversations hosted in rotation by the partner institutions. The event will bring together 40 participants from academia, industry, and government to discuss the opportunities and challenges around critical mineral supplies in the state and in the nation. 

The GEMs workshop is driven by the compelling needs around domestic critical mineral supply for the energy and transportation sectors, and by the potentially significant rare earth element resources available in the state of Georgia. The workshop will couple the research capabilities of the three Georgia R1 research universities and the mature mining industry in Georgia to solve the challenges around this issue.

It will engage all stakeholders with interests in resource exploration, technology development, energy and environmental sustainability, economic development, regulatory compliance, and workforce development toward achieving national security independence for critical mineral supply. The first workshop will focus on the production of the critical mineral resource, rare earth elements (REE), from kaolin mine tailings, overburden, and other potential processing streams. Other areas of REE production may also be considered.

The goal of the workshop is to produce a statement of outcomes regarding the current state of knowledge, opportunities, challenges, and possible pathways for GEMs. It will also serve as a catalyst to drive conversations among the key stakeholders to make an impact in GEMs, including developing university-industry-government partnership grants, internships, sponsored research, and training opportunities for the current and next generation of Georgia residents. These relationships will play an important role in creating reliable domestic supplies of critical minerals. 

If you are interested in participating in the workshop, or have any other questions, please reach out to the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute via email at comments@energy.gatech.edu or Professor Paul Schroeder at the University of Georgia by email at schroe@uga.edu.