In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline

In the race to find critical minerals, there’s a ‘gold mine’ literally at our shoreline

TThe world is on the brink of a new “gold rush.” Except this time, countries are rushing to control the minerals required for solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries. And instead of continuing to dig tunnels or pits, some scientists are looking to a promising — but challenging — source of minerals that has tormented researchers for decades: seawater. The ocean holds far more than just water and salt. Pretty much every naturally occurring elem…