A research team developed electrokinetic mining (EKM), an eco-friendly method for extracting rare earth elements. EKM reduces environmental harm, lowers resource use, and achieved over 95% recovery in industrial tests, marking a breakthrough in sustainable mining.
on-adsorption rare earth deposits (IADs) are the primary source of heavy rare earth elements (HREE), meeting over 90% of global demand. However, the widely used ammonium-salt-based in-situ mining method has caused significant environmental damage.
To promote sustainable rare earth element (REE) extraction, Professors Jianxi Zhu and Hongping He from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have developed an environmentally friendly and efficient electrokinetic mining (EKM) technology.
Their research was published in Nature Sustainability on January 6, 2025.
The Concept and Challenges of Electrokinetic Mining (EKM)
To address the challenges of sustainable and efficient REE extraction, the research team proposed the concept of EKM in 2023, enabling green, efficient, economical, and rapid recovery of REE. While initial experiments validated its feasibility, industrial-scale application of this new EKM technology posed challenges, such as electrode stability in corrosive environments, potential leachate leakage during large-scale implementation, and the complex impacts of groundwater and ore structure on REE recovery.
In response, the researchers developed cutting-edge strategies, such as developing conductive plastic electrodes, high-voltage blocking strategies, and an intermittent power alternation method. These advancements reduced leaching agent usage by 80%, mining time by 70%, and energy consumption by 60%. During 60 days of industrial-scale testing, the new technology achieved a REE recovery rate exceeding 95%.
Environmental monitoring further confirmed a 95% reduction in ammonia-nitrogen emissions in groundwater and surface water, significantly mitigating the environmental impact of REE mining.
The researchers emphasized that their study highlights the strong potential of EKM technology in industrial applications, offering substantial advantages in environmental protection, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. This breakthrough provides robust technical support for the green and large-scale mining of IADs, paving the way for sustainable resource utilization.
Reference: “Industrial-scale sustainable rare earth mining enabled by electrokinetics” by Gaofeng Wang, Jianxi Zhu, Xiaoliang Liang, Bowen Ling, Jie Xu, Yongqiang Yang, Shichang Kang, Wei Tan, Yongjin Xu, Xiaoshan Zou, Lingyu Ran, Jingming Wei and Hongping He, 6 January 2025, Nature Sustainability.
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01501-9
The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
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