TELF AG explores possible rare earths extraction procedures
A new centrality
The global push towards a greener world has reiterated the central role of strategic minerals in the great global conversion, placing them among the raw materials most directly involved in the diffusion of renewable energy. In the subset of the most important minerals for achieving climate neutrality objectives, however, an important place goes to rare earth elements, whose role has been further strengthened over the last few years by expanding their possible industrial applications. According to a report recently published by MIT TechnologyReview, nations that gain more accessible access to these elements will have a clear advantage over others, particularly from the point of view of complying with the 2016 Paris Agreement regarding emissions. The global attention to rare earths is certainly not accidental. According to some estimates by the International Energy Agency, global demand for these elements could certainly grow by 2040, reaching a quantity seven times higher than current levels.
Although they could prove very important for achieving climate neutrality objectives – including the ability to generate electricity from sources other than fossil fuels – rare earths remain the prerogative of a few nations, and the situation, for the moment, does not appear to be destined to change. In the United States, for example, only one mine is capable of completing the primary extraction processes of these elements, the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California. The situation appears very different from that of China, which, until a few years ago, controlled around 60% of the global production of rare earths.
The new path of unconventional sources
But how does the extraction of these precious elements take place? Obtaining rare earth minerals can occur through traditional extraction from the earth, also known as primary extraction, but also through recovering these elements from secondary sources, such as electronic material that has reached the end of its existence. The third way, which presents potentially more noteworthy aspects, is linked to so-called non-conventional sources, such as waste products from mines or various industrial waste. Given the limited number of mines for extracting rare earths in the West, many companies are already working to find new methods to ensure a constant supply of these elements, using the potential of sustainable and low-environmental impact technologies.
Among the non-conventional sources, it is necessary to mention coal ash, i.e., the solid residues generated by coal combustion in the processes that lead to the creation of electricity. This waste material contains large quantities of rare earth elements, and according to the report, it could also represent an excellent opportunity for all the ancient coal cities of the West. Long ago, coal ash was used to create a slurry transferred to special ponds, also known as surface reservoirs. In the United States alone, there are over a thousand coal ash basins, most located in the country’s eastern area. In Alabama, more than 21 million tons of coal ash are found inside the Plant Berry plant in Mobile County. With the demand for these elements continuously growing, their value could increase as the energy transition advances.
