Federal government awards renewable energy research funds to Montana State University

The mineral pyrite, more commonly known as “fool’s gold,” may hold the keys to a domestic-based future in renewable energy.

The Department of Energy, in collaboration with Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, awarded Montana State University Associate Professor Eric Boyd more than $3.3 million in funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research to better extract the mineral.

The award granted Wednesday is a renewal of funding from 2019 to 2021 that totaled $2 million. The new award will be used to continue research into the next steps of what Boyd dubbed the “bio-mining” of pyrite.

Pyrite is one of the most abundant sulfides in the world, Boyd said. He added that this method of mining will not produce acid, a harmful byproduct of historic mining practices.

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