… [M]etal concentrations in Colorado are increasing over time as warming summer temperatures thaw previously frozen sites containing acid-forming bedrock. This result is alarming from an ecological perspective. If metal concentrations climb too high, they can kill aquatic species, as evidenced by one mountain lake that washed up hundreds of dead fish this summer. But, these increased concentrations may also present an opportunity. That’s according to Baolin Deng and Pan Ni, two distinguished researchers at the University of Missouri’s Missouri Water Center, who are now working to unlock an efficient process capable of extracting rare earths from acid rock drainage.