Charles River Museum Of Industry And Innovation Opens 1st 'Course Correctors' Exhibit

WALTHAM, MA — A new exhibit at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation highlights Phoenix Tailings, a Massachusetts Company with operations in Somerville and Woburn.

Phoenix Tailings "utilizes an innovative, sustainable, zero-waste approach to the mining and processing of rare earth metals, particularly neodymium used in large-capacity batteries such as those found in wind turbines and electric cars," museum officials said.

They concentrate on extracting rare earths from the waste materials (tailings) left behind by traditional mining methods practiced for centuries.

Phoenix Tailings "aims to provide a US-based alternative source of rare earth metals that utilizes a cleaner process and yields purer quality products than the current market, which is heavily dominated on all fronts by China," officials noted.

Their refinement process is clean and carbon-negative and results in 99.9 percent purity of the rare earth metals obtained, while also generating by-products that are completely reusable in other applications. It is all done with the utmost attention to both operator safety and having zero environmental impact, in sharp contrast to the processes used by most in the industry.

This is the first exhibit in a new exhibit series by the Charles River Museum called “Course Correctors,” which spotlights companies remedying undesirable consequences of industry.

"It has long been typical of museums to focus on the most appealing qualities of the subjects they illuminate. On industrial subjects, it has historically been the practice of the Charles River Museum to exhibit primarily on the positive aspects of products, companies, and industries," said executive director Bob Perry.

"Social inequity... environmental damage... climate impact... economic imbalance... resource exploitation... waste... These issues and more are also consequences of the more than two centuries of American industrial decision making and dominance and should not be ignored."

The “Course Correctors” series of exhibits confronts negative aspects of industry’s legacy by raising awareness of contemporary American companies whose people, processes, and products seek to profitably mitigate historically destructive effects that various industries have had on our world.