The Biden administration and Lithium Americas Corp. are negotiating the terms of an agreement that would fund more than half of the cost of the Thacker Pass mine.

The collaboration will aim to increase Fortune's cobalt and bismuth refining operations to process co-product streams of the minerals recovered from the Kennecott smelter.

Coal is widely excluded from investment portfolios, and many banks have placed significant restrictions on lending to avoid it.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the world is up against a dominant supplier of critical minerals willing to exploit its position for political gain.

Even if the industry can eventually cut expenses and jump over technological hurdles, asteroid mining will remain commercial science fiction for some time.

Technology processes nickel ore for EV batteries with no waste.

The US retail warehousing giant is now selling 1 oz. PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna Veriscan gold bars.

The announcement comes on the heels of Albemarle's recent award of $90 million from the Department of Defense .