Digging Into Clean Energy: The Hidden Role of Mining in a Sustainable Future

By Carin Currier

When we picture the clean energy transition, most of us think of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, not mines. But the truth is, you can’t build a cleaner future without the minerals that come from the ground.

Copper, graphite, zinc, rare earth elements, and other critical minerals are the building blocks of renewable technology. Every EV battery, solar panel, and transmission line depends on them. An electric vehicle needs about six times more mineral inputs than a conventional car, and a wind plant requires nearly nine times more than a gas-fired one. The demand for these materials is skyrocketing and meeting it responsibly is one of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, of our time.

That’s where Alaska comes in. Our state is rich in the very resources the world needs, from the graphite at Graphite Creek on the Seward Peninsula to the copper and gold at Pebble, Ambler, and Donlin, to the rare earth potential at Bokan Mountain. Alaska has the geology, the people, and the know-how to help power the clean energy future, and we can do it under some of the strongest environmental and labor standards in the world.

Modern mining looks a lot different than it used to. Today’s projects are lowering emissions, recycling water, reclaiming land, and even incorporating renewable energy into operations. Responsible resource development in Alaska means jobs for Alaskans, revenue for communities, and materials for technologies that make the planet cleaner.

If we’re serious about decarbonizing and building a sustainable world, we can’t ignore where the materials come from. The path to a greener future doesn’t start in a factory or a lab, it starts right here in Alaska, with the rocks beneath our feet and the people committed to developing them responsibly.