Margaret Anne Hinkle Awarded a Collaborative Grant from the National Science Foundation

By Brian Laubscher
September 16, 2024

Margaret Anne Hinkle, assistant professor of earth and environmental geoscience at Washington and Lee University, is part of a collaborative team that will receive a $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to examine the potential of adapting acid mine drainage remediation systems to produce critical minerals in economically viable concentrations.

Hinkle will work alongside Rosemary Capo and Brian Stewart from the Department of Geology and Environmental Science at the University of Pittsburgh and Ben Hedin of Hedin Environmental on the project titled "Rare earth element and yttrium extraction by biotic and abiotic hydrous manganese oxides associated with acidic mine drainage."

With the projected growth in renewable energy and technology sectors, along with an increasing reliance on critical minerals, identifying domestic sources of these critical minerals has become essential. Large volumes of solid waste containing critical minerals are generated each year as a byproduct of acid mine drainage remediation, an ongoing environmental issue in the U.S. The research team will examine the potential of adapting acid mine drainage remediation systems to produce critical minerals in economically viable concentrations.

"I am so excited to be working on this cutting-edge research project with these fantastic scientists and our W&L students," said Hinkle. "Not only does the grant provide funding for several undergraduate student summer researchers but also for field trips for a future Spring Term class I plan to teach. This class will visit the acid mine drainage remediation sites where we are deploying our field experiments, and they can learn from our interdisciplinary team of researchers."

"Involving students in investigating a potential solution to what is now an issue of environmental and national importance allows them to see scientists actively working together to solve such issues," she added. "They too can learn skills and content needed to get involved, no matter what career path they end up pursuing."

Research for the study began over the summer, with Hinkle and student Riley Mitchelson '27 preparing manganese oxide biominerals for the first round of field experiments conducted by the University of Pittsburgh team.

"The research seeks to compare binding by rare earth elements and yttrium to abiotic manganese oxides and our biogenic manganese oxides at an acid mine drainage site," said Hinkle. "We aim to determine if a byproduct of passive coal mine drainage remediation, manganese oxides, can be deployed further upstream in acid mine drainage sites to concentrate rare earth elements and yttrium, critical elements needed as we move forward with the energy transition."

Hinkle has been a member of the W&L faculty since 2017, teaching in the Earth and Environmental Geoscience Department and serving as an affiliate faculty member with the Environmental Studies Program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Sewanee: The University of the South, as well as a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in earth and planetary sciences from Washington University in St. Louis.

The NSF is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. It was established by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science, advance national health, prosperity and welfare and to secure the national defense. The foundation fulfills its mission primarily through grant offerings. These investments account for roughly 25% of federal support to America's colleges and universities for basic research.

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