Critical
Minerals
Institute

Arizona and California
October 6 - 12, 2024

The global shift toward renewable energy and electrified transportation could increase demand for minerals as much as 600 percent in the coming years, according to experts, and the rush is on to find – and mine – those materials. Adding to the urgency, the Biden Administration has placed a high priority on securing domestic supplies – hence the term “critical” or “strategic” minerals – and has backed those efforts with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.

But these efforts to stave off the worst impacts of climate change will not come without costs, and it will be crucial that journalists accurately report on the impacts of this increase in domestic mineral production. To help them understand those tradeoffs, the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources conducted a Critical Minerals Institute, a five-day, six-night program based in Phoenix.

Participating journalists met with Tribal authorities, policymakers, scientists, industry representatives, community organizations and concerned citizens as they traveled to parts of Arizona and California to see current and proposed projects. They visited important Indigenous sites, wildlife corridors and fenceline communities already dealing with environmental justice issues – and saw places where proposed mines offer rare economic and career opportunities and are viewed as new sources of municipal revenue.