KALAMAZOO (WKZO) – Representatives from the U.S. Dept of Energy and Western Michigan University administration met Wednesday to tour the campus’ Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE) facilities.

A presentation from Geosciences experts, including WMU staff members, followed the tour showcasing WMU’s pioneering strides in carbon sequestering. Watch above for an explanation of carbon sequestering from Geosciences professor Dr. Bill Harrison.

The purpose of the tour through the MGRRE facility was to highlight WMU’s extensive research in domestic minerals that have been gathered, stocked, and categorized in their large library warehouse. Watch above for a look inside the MGRRE facility.

WMU’s MGRRE facility is open to use for companies interested in mineral research. Primarily, oil and gas companies use the MGRRE library to explore the future of Michigan as a leader for energy independence.

Recently, due to the increasing growth in the agriculture industry, companies have been interested in “pot ash” one of the key ingredients found in fertilizer. “Michigan has an enormous untapped supply of pot ash”, Charles McConnell said. McConnell is the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Imagery at the U.S. Department of Energy. “In the future, pot ash mining in Michigan could be as large as the salt mining industry in Michigan and the MGRRE will play a major role in making that happen.”