Engagement
An initiative driven by stakeholders
A primary objective of EMRTAI is to provide information that meets the needs of diverse stakeholders. EMRTAI products are intended to be resource documents that can be used for decision-making in the management of mining-influenced water and waste materials such as chat, tailings, waste rock, slag, and contaminated soils and sediment. Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) provide a rigorous and consistent framework for conducting technology assessments. They are developed based on user input and leverage the technical expertise of Technical Panel members.
Generating Data to Inform Decision-making
Recovery of critical minerals from mining influenced water
Key metrics for assessing technologies include percent recovery of target critical minerals, purity of target minerals in recovery products, treatment of contaminants of concern, characterization of waste materials produced and solutions to be discharged, amongst many other aspects of the operation of the technology. See the QAPP for details.
Characterization of critical minerals in solid mine waste
Field portable x-ray fluorescence (FPXRF) tools can be used to screen solid mining and mineral waste materials for critical minerals and other elements in the field. Both grab (whole, unaltered) samples and milled (ground to a fine powder) can be screened to characterize concentrations of elements, with precision and accuracy of results varying due to sample heterogeneity. Key metrics for assessing technologies include comparability to a reference method, accuracy, intra-unit reproducibility, and the detectability of elements. See the QAPP for details.
Serve on a Technical Panel
Subject Matter Experts in mining, mine remediation, and/or critical minerals monitoring and recovery technologies can serve on Technical Panels, which will provide guidance in developing assessment protocols that align with key performance criteria. Technical experts also support the development of summary reports for the stakeholder community at large through peer review.
More information
We are seeking Technical Panel Members to provide expert input in shaping Quality Assurance Project Plans for Technology Assessments and serve as reviewers for Technology Assessment Reports. Interested subject matter experts can apply to serve on the following Technical Panels:
• Critical minerals recovery from mining influenced water
• *NEW* Critical minerals recovery from solid mining and mineral processing wastes
• Characterization of critical minerals in solid mining and mineral processing wastes
To express interest in serving on a Technical Panel, submit a brief resume/biosketch to info@emrtai.org.
Attend a Stakeholder Group Meeting
The EMRTAI’s Stakeholder Group meets quarterly and is always open to membership by interested stakeholders in all parts of mining and legacy mine site remediation.
The next Stakeholder Group Meeting is on March 24, 2026
Reach Out About Technology Development
The EMRTAI is interested in new opportunities to advance technologies that characterize and/or recover critical minerals. If you have a technology that the Initiative is not currently soliciting applications for, or if you manage a legacy mine site and would like to have the EMRTAI do work at your site, please reach out!
