Jordens, and 2 co-authors, reported 2013 that rare earth elements (REEs) comprise the fifteen elements of the lanthanide series as well as yttrium, and may be found in over 250 different minerals. These elements are required for many different applications such as high-strength permanent magnets, catalysts for petroleum refining, metal and glass additives and phosphors used in electronic displays. The only REE bearing minerals that have been extracted on a commercial scale are bastnäsite, monazite, and xenotime. These minerals may be beneficiated using gravity, magnetic, electrostatic and flotation separation techniques.
Increased demand for the different products manufactured from REE has resulted in a constriction of supply from China, which currently produces 97% of the world’s rare earths, via export quotas. Many new rare earth deposits are currently being developed to help meet the demand void created by the Chinese export quotas, however most of these developing deposits include rare earth minerals for which there is limited processing knowledge.
The authors examined the separation techniques that are currently employed for rare earth mineral beneficiation and identifies areas in need of further research. They concluded, in part, that the separation of rare earth minerals may be fully described using only a handful of mineral developments worldwide, though growing commercial demand for the elements of the lanthanide series has greatly increased the opportunities for the development of new rare earth mineral deposits with novel mineralogy, as well as the research required to effectively separate these minerals. The existing literature on the physical beneficiation of rare earth minerals is mainly focused on the two major REE mineral deposits, Bayan Obo and Mountain Pass, with a small amount of research material available on other minor rare earth minerals.
A considerable amount of rare earth research has been reported in Chinese journals, however, efforts at translating this information have revealed that many of these articles lack the requisite background information (proper chemical names of collector molecules, detailed descriptions of processes etc.) to provide any significant insights into the development of separation processes for alternative rare earth minerals. Each rare earth mineral, no matter how widely investigated, presents significant opportunities for future research.
....... For many of the rare earth-bearing minerals that are present in newly developing deposits there is effectively no peer-reviewed knowledge base to rely on when designing a new rare earth mineral beneficiation process. As the rare earth mineral processing industry grows to accommodate expanding demand, this knowledge deficit will have to be addressed.
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