Areas of Emphasis
In accordance with our mission to build a just and long-lasting mineral supply chain, SuReMin emphasizes four categories.
Low-Cost, Scalable, Rapid Data Collection for Social and Environmental Assessment
- Sensing at the edge
- Social science-driven data collection
- Open-access environmental and human well-being data for communities, policymakers, researchers, and companies
Publications
O’Connell, M. G.; Smith, K.; Wiggins, M.; Marvin DeFoe Shingwe Bines Name Clan; Rasmussen, J.; Chiriboga, E.; Price, M. W.; Marion Suiseeya, K. R.; Dunn, J. B. "Improving Risk and Impact Assessments via Sustainability Guidance from Anishinaabe Gikendaasowin (Anishinaabe-Specific Indigenous Knowledge)." Energy Research & Social Science 2026,104755. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2026.104755.
Sustainable Mining Waste Management, Reuse, and Disposal
- Risk assessment for tailings dams
- Chemistry and processes for circular economy technology to reduce waste
Life Cycle Assessment
- Framework and methodology development
- Attributional environmental
- Social Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) complement Environmental LCAs by including indicators such as fair wages and delocalization
- Community-engaged: Develop framework for improving frontline mining community engagement in the LCA process
- Evaluating consequences that can arise from major technology and policy shifts such as increased mining that arise from decarbonization policies
Publications
N. Trost, J.; Zitomer, D.; Rodríguez, N. G.; B. Dunn, J. "Life Cycle Inventory Data for Critical Mineral Mining: Recommendations and New U.S. Data Compendium." Environmental Science: Advances 2026, 5 (2), 522–533. DOI: 10.1039/D5VA00188A.
Trost, J. N.; Dunn, J. B.; Marion Suiseeya, K. R. "Holistic, Literature-Informed Critical Mineral Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines: An Essential Foundation for the Energy Transition." ACS Eng. Au 2025, 5 (6), 621–638. DOI: 10.1021/acsengineeringau.5c00075.
Trost, J. N.; Nassar, N. T.; Dunn, J. B. "Future Water Constraints on United States Lithium Mining under Climate Change." Commun Earth Environ 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s43247-026-03643-4.
Education
- Gradate student exchanges
- Undergraduate global trek
- Graduate research seminar