Recovery potential of rare earth elements from mining and industrial residues: A review and cases studies

Costis, Sophie; Mueller, Kristin K.; Coudert, Lucie; Neculita, Carmen Mihaela; Reynier, Nicolas; Blais, Jean‐François

doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2020.106699

Cited by 108 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…An indispensable requirement for sustainability is the practice of circular economy, based on minimizing waste and pollution and allowing materials to stay in use [35,36]. In the mining sector, circular economy and green economy are the most used concepts for sustainability issues ( [17,18,37], and references therein). For the raw material sector, they are especially focused on the 3-R approach (i.e., reduce, reuse, and recycle), with the goal to minimize the waste material along a value chain and maintain the material as long as possible in the cycle of a system [37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, a primary EU action plan should involve actions aiming to diversify the supply of REEs (and other critical metals), exploiting also secondary sources, thus reducing the dependency on primary critical raw materials of extra-EU derivation through circular and sustainable use of resources. Indeed, the drastic reduction of primary metal extraction in favor of secondary sources is the key to a sustainable mining industry and to its transition to a circular economy [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recycling REEs from the Waste Products of Silius Mine (SE Sardinia, Italy): A Preliminary Study

et al. 2021

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The present research represents an approach toward the recycling of extractive waste inspired by circular economy and sustainability that is developed in accordance with Goal 12 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. A new procedure for the recovery of REEs from fluorite–barite–galena ores with calcite gangue from the Silius mine (Sardinia, Italy) is presented. The considered samples are waste materials of Silius mineralization, collected in the old processing plant of Assemini (near Cagliari). In this orebody, REE minerals consist of prevailing synchysite (a REE-bearing fluorocarbonate) and subordinate xenotime-Y (a Y-bearing phosphate). REE fluorocarbonates are extracted using 50% K2CO3 as the leaching solution, at 100 °C. Using a solution (mL)/sample (g) ratio of 25, about 10% of the total REE content of the considered sample is extracted within 1 h. At the laboratory scale, such alkaline leaching of REE from the waste materials allows the recovery of the CO2 produced as K2CO3 from concentrated KOH, in accordance with a circular flow. Further work is ongoing to scale up the process into a pilot plant, to prove that the method developed within this research can be economically feasible, socially suitable, and environmentally respectful.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling REEs from the Waste Products of Silius Mine (SE Sardinia, Italy): A Preliminary Study

et al. 2021

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“…Compared to chemical leaching which uses strong acids (inorganic or organic) and complexants, bioleaching suffers from lower yield and rates [91]. The effectiveness of this process mainly depends on the ability of the microorganisms to oxidize and thus to leach the REEs and also on parameters such as particle size of the REE bearing mineral, the pH of the leaching media and the temperature [93].…”

Section: Bioleachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rare Earths’ Recovery from Phosphogypsum: An Overview on Direct and Indirect Leaching Techniques

et al. 2021

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The need for rare earths elements (REEs) in high tech electrical and electronic based materials are vital. In the global economy, deposits of natural REEs are limited except for countries such as China, which has prompted current attempts to seek alternative resources of REEs. This increased the dependence on major secondary rare earth-bearing sources such as scrap alloy, battery waste, spent catalysts, fly ash, spent magnets, waste light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and phosphogypsum (PG) for a substantial recovery of REEs for use. Recycling of REEs from these alternative waste sources through hydrometallurgical processes is becoming a sustainable and viable approach due to the low energy consumption, low waste generation, few emissions, environmentally friendliness, and economically feasibility. Industrial wastes such as the PG generated from the production of phosphoric acid is a potential secondary resource of REEs that contains a total REE concentration of over 2000 mg/kg depending upon the phosphate ore from which it is generated. Due to trace concentration of REEs in the PG (normally < 0.1% wt.) and their tiny and complex occurrence as mineral phases the recovery process of REE from PG would be highly challenging in both technology and economy. Various physicochemical pre-treatments approaches have been used up to date to up-concentrate REEs from PG prior to their extraction. Methods such as carbonation, roasting, microwave heating, grinding or recrystallization have been widely used for this purpose. This present paper reviews recent literature on various techniques that are currently employed to up-concentrate REs from PG to provide preliminary insight into further critical raw materials recovery. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the different strategies are discussed as avenues for realization of REE recovery from PG at a larger scale. In all the different approaches, recrystallization of PG appears to show promising advantages due to both high REE recovery as well as the pure PG phase that can be obtained.

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“…These contents are quite high considering that deposits with much lower concentrations are currently being investigated [54]. Literature [55] indicates that some tailings contain 413 mg/kg REE. Although these tailings are phosphogypsum, these amounts measured in the Šibenik Bay tailings could be sufficient with appropriate concentration and separation methods.…”

Section: Tailings As Potential Recovery Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Aspects of Historical Ferromanganese Tailings in the Šibenik Bay, Croatia

Huljek

Palinkaš

Fiket

et al. 2021

Water

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The former manganese ferroalloy plant and the remaining tailings are affecting the quality of the environment in Šibenik Bay, Croatia, even though industrial activities ceased more than 25 years ago. This study has revealed that the main manganese mineral phases present in the recently collected tailings, as well as in the dust collected on the roof of the plant during the production period, are bustamite and Mn-oxides. The same type of Mn mineral phases was also found in recently collected sediments from Šibenik Bay. Detailed chemical and phase analyses (XRD, BCR sequential analysis, aqua regia and lithium borate fusion) of the dust sample revealed high manganese values (24.1%), while granulometric analysis showed that 50% of the particles are smaller than PM2.5. The influence of the tailings is visible in the sediment, but the concentrations of the potentially toxic elements determined by the sequential BCR analysis are within the legal limits. Some higher values (20.3 g/kg Mn, 595 mg/kg Pb and 494 mg/kg Zn) are detected in the tailings, which are still exposed to weathering and as such should be additionally monitored. On the other hand, this material contains a considerable number of elements that could be considered lucrative (∑ REE up to 700 mg/kg, Mn up to 23 g/kg, Fe up to 37 g/kg and Al up to 25 g/kg), opening the possibility of reuse and recovery.

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Recovery potential of rare earth elements from mining and industrial residues: A review and cases studies

Cited by 108 publications

References 102 publications

Recycling REEs from the Waste Products of Silius Mine (SE Sardinia, Italy): A Preliminary Study

Recycling REEs from the Waste Products of Silius Mine (SE Sardinia, Italy): A Preliminary Study

Rare Earths’ Recovery from Phosphogypsum: An Overview on Direct and Indirect Leaching Techniques

Environmental Aspects of Historical Ferromanganese Tailings in the Šibenik Bay, Croatia

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