Payne Institute Critical Minerals Symposium

A Washington briefing on US critical minerals strategy, combining policy priorities for 2027 with Fastmarkets’ market outlook. Topics include strengthening domestic mining, processing and refining capacity; supply-chain gaps and overseas processing dependence; the effects of industrial policy, government support and market conditions on investment and commercial development; and the influence of defense and aerospace demand on sourcing, procurement and security of supply. The program also addresses trade relationships, geopolitical risk, international competition, prices, supply and demand, project economics, and the implications of policy and market developments for investment and procurement. Competitor attendance is subject to approval.

The technical program examines Great Basin geology and mineral deposits, including their strategic importance to U.S. mineral independence. It includes technical talks, keynote presentations, exhibits, professional and student posters, core shacks, field trips, and short courses. Technical sessions cover Mesozoic geology and ore deposits; exploration technology; Paleocene-to-late-Eocene geology and Carlin-type deposits; copper; epithermal deposits in Nevada and the Walker Lane; carbonate replacement deposits; ghost mineral districts and exploration blind spots; lithium; critical minerals; and the Western Cordillera. Field-trip subjects include hydrothermal gold systems, Walker Lane epithermal deposits, Yerington copper, Nevada lithium, Carlin-type deposits, the Comstock gold and silver district, and Lake Tahoe’s volcanic origins. Short courses address ore and alteration features in epithermal-to-porphyry systems and mineral resource estimation for public reporting, including geostatistics, data QA/QC, variogram analysis, interpolation, resource classification, and reporting under S-K 1300, NI 43-101, or JORC. All attendees are welcome, including nonmembers.

NAPE Summit combines an energy prospect and property expo with a business conference and expo hubs covering oil and gas, critical minerals, renewable energy, offshore activity, minerals and non-operating interests, data centers, and bitcoin mining. The Critical Minerals Hub addresses exploration, extraction, processing, and regulatory, market, and supply-chain factors; other hubs cover energy and digital infrastructure, data-center power demands, and offshore regulation, technology, and leasing. The Energy Business Conference has business and technical tracks. Its agenda covers U.S. and global energy-market outlooks; grid capacity and AI-driven electricity demand; AI adoption, scaling, and governance in energy; and how conflict, trade disputes, cyber threats, supply-chain disruptions, strategic minerals, and energy security affect markets and investment. Technical sessions address AI in subsurface workflows—including geospatial tools, OSDU and harmonized datasets, and seismic analysis—and emerging opportunities in mature basins, including direct lithium extraction from Arkansas’s Smackover Formation, geothermal co-production in the Bakken, helium and hydrogen resources, and horizontal development. The expo also features prospect presentations and a government affairs session.

A multidisciplinary materials research program covering electronics, optics and photonics; energy and sustainability; manufacturing; materials theory, computation and data science; nanomaterials; quantum materials, heterostructures and devices; soft materials and biomaterials; and structural and functional materials. Critical-minerals topics include advanced characterization, AI/ML and materials for enhanced critical minerals recovery and separation, and materials innovation for ultra-pure critical minerals from fundamental science to industrial scaling. Energy symposia address data-driven processing for scalable energy-storage materials manufacturing, earth-abundant active materials for Li-ion batteries, lithium-based battery characterization and computation, critical-material-free chemistries beyond Li-ion, solid-state battery interfaces and processing, solar-energy materials, space photovoltaics, and advanced nuclear fuel and cladding. Manufacturing topics include multiscale additive manufacturing, from nano-architected materials to macroscale structures; sustainable electronics; and processing and manufacturing pathways for emerging electrochemical energy storage. Other subjects include in situ and operando electron and X-ray microscopy, 4D-STEM and AI-enabled imaging; AI-ready materials research platforms; quantum sensing and superconducting materials; soft electronics, biohybrid materials and biosensing.

The forum brings together cleantech innovators, investors, corporates, and other ecosystem participants to address grid stability, water scarcity, waste-to-value, critical minerals, and geopolitical pressures on supply chains and energy security. The program includes a closed-door, peer-level executive roundtable and an opening plenary covering cleantech trends, capital flows, innovation, and the 2027 Global Cleantech 100. Agenda topics include nuclear fuel supply and nuclear supply chains; mineral processing, refining, recovery, and the post-mining supply chain; physical AI applications in grid construction, critical minerals, and dual-use; data-center power demand, grid capacity, water use, cooling, and wastewater resource recovery. Other sessions address heat resilience, energy efficiency for AI compute, geopolitical risk across energy and cleantech supply chains, and investor perspectives on cleantech funding. Innovation Showcases feature cleantech companies presenting technologies and business models.

Programming is organized around Learn and Connect tracks. Learn covers legal, regulatory, innovation, and economic forces shaping mining and minerals, including mining law, permitting, litigation trends affecting critical mineral exploration and development, executive strategy, risk management, workforce development, geopolitical pressures, legislation, and energy security. Connect includes an exhibit hall spanning engineering and consulting, legal and financial services, environmental and ESG advising, recruitment, technology, equipment, and exploration and development. Its Business Development Forum offers one-on-one company meetings focused on opportunities and potential partnerships.

The technical program covers mining research and operational innovation, including AI, robotics and automation; advanced process control and digital twins; mineral processing, metallurgy and critical minerals; and bulk material handling, transfer-chute engineering and dust mitigation. Presentations address rare-earth extractant modeling, nickel leaching, copper flotation, sensor drift in AI systems, and coal mining beneath water bodies. The program includes the Robert E. Murray Innovation Award Lecture and the Dreyer Lecture. Conference registration includes technical sessions, keynote sessions, poster sessions, digital technical preprints, and access to the Western Mining Summit and the expo.

An intensive workshop on projected electricity demand and expanding the supply of natural resources used to generate power. Topics include natural gas, geothermal development and repurposing oil and gas assets; hydrogen, uranium, lithium and critical minerals; and water, environmental, storage, site-selection and regulatory considerations. Program discussions cover grid shortfalls and raw materials for electricity generation, solutions for increasing electricity supply, geothermal, and technology including ORC, sensors and small nuclear reactors. Other sessions address AI prompts for grid and behind-the-meter planning; lithium direct lithium extraction (DLE) and hydrogen technologies; regulatory and legislative factors affecting geothermal, critical minerals, low-carbon energy, grids and data centers; and mining and oil-and-gas intersections, including near-surface imaging and copper for electricity transmission. The program also includes an AI prompt clinic focused on water, the environment, science and regulations.

The program’s technical sessions cover environmental issues, geotechnical engineering, mineral processing, mining, Mexico-focused projects, geology, and new projects. Topics include Arizona’s WOTUS status; machine-learning-based representative sample selection; open-pit slope stabilization; alkaline-flush treatment of metals-impacted water; numerical mine modeling, geotechnical monitoring, and tailings-storage-facility stability; flotation technologies, ADR processes, and SAG mill sizing; mine-permitting timelines, pump failures, electrical maintenance, water treatment, and autonomous operations; and mineral resources, drilling confidence, tailings water balances, and mine-project development. Featured presentations address Resolution Copper’s next chapter and large-load electrical growth in Arizona. New-project updates cover the Santa Cruz Ivanhoe Mine, Florence Copper, Faraday Copper’s Redhawk Complex, and Hudbay CopperWorld. The program also includes a student poster session and a student pitch session. Pre-conference programming includes a course on proposed NI 43-101 disclosure changes and a Women in Mining workshop on boundary-setting skills.