The vision of the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative is to catalyze regional economic growth and job creation by realizing the full potential value of natural resources, such as coal, throughout the United States. It has been designed to address the upstream and midstream critical minerals and materials (CMM) supply chain and downstream manufacturing of valuable, nonfuel, carbon-based products, to accelerate the realization of full potential for unconventional and secondary sources of CMM and carbon ore across the United States. Feedstocks that could be considered for domestic production to enhance national and economic security of CMM include fossil fuel energy and similar waste streams, such as coal waste and by-products, oil and gas produced waters, active mineral mines tailings and byproducts, and brines produced as part of carbon sequestration efforts. They can also be used as sources of carbon for production of valuable, nonfuel, carbon-based products (CBPs).