From Waste to Resource: Unlocking Critical Minerals in Produced Water

Mike Hightower, PhD, director of the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, and Kyle Murray, PhD, principal scientist at GeoConsulting LLC, explore the growing opportunity to recover critical minerals from produced water in oil and gas operations. They explain how characterizing produced water allows researchers to identify valuable elements such as lithium, magnesium, iodine, bromide, and others that can create new revenue streams. The conversation highlights current projects focused on mineral recovery and outlines the pathway from water characterization to commercial-scale extraction. The episode also identifies U.S. oil and gas basins with the greatest potential for economically viable recovery of critical minerals from produced water. Podcast Recorded on January 29, 2026