Another Man’ s Treasure Mission Critical Materials
Written by Micaela Morrissette
There’ s something in the water in Mount Storm, WV. Yttrium, to be precise— and dysprosium and terbium.
All three are heavy rare earth elements vital to U. S. security. All are elements the U. S. must depend on foreign powers like China to provide.
Now, thanks to a company called Mission Critical Materials( MCM) and technologies developed by researchers at West Virginia University( WVU), mining communities like Mount Storm may hold the key to sourcing those elements right here at home.
Found in acidic waters that drain off from mining operations, heavy rare earth elements like yttrium are essential for manufacturing defense systems, advanced electronics and energy infrastructure.
Acid mine drainage must be cleaned, whether it includes rare earth elements or not. The runoff at Mount Storm, for instance, is dominated by iron and aluminum, requiring perpetual treatment to neutralize the pH balance.
MCM’ s technology integrates directly into conventional treatment systems, leveraging existing infrastructure at sites that are already permitted.
“ We’ re taking contaminated water, a historical environmental liability, and converting it into something absolutely critical from a strategic security standpoint,” says MCM CEO Stephen Dunmead.
MCM launched in December 2025, and in early 2026, the company partnered with REalloys, Inc., to create a supply chain that will deliver rare earth elements extracted from mine waste directly to manufacturers of magnets used
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