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Context:

A research team developed electrokinetic mining (EKM), an eco-friendly method for extracting rare earth elements.

EKM reduces environmental harm, lowers resource use, and achieves over 95% recovery in industrial tests, marking a breakthrough in sustainable mining.

About Electrokinetic Mining

It is a new technique that uses electrokinetics, the application of a direct or alternating electric field to accelerate the migration of mobile species such as metals, water, and particles.

Issues With Current Mining Methods

Currently, heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) are mainly mined from rare earth ion adsorption deposits (IADs) discovered in southern China, and regional mining produces and supports 95% of global HREE demand.

However, conventional mining uses excessive use of ammonium salt-based leaching agents to recover HREE from IAD, such a technique shows low efficiency and devastating environmental impact on the local ecosystem.

Advantages of electrokinetic mining

• Reduce leaching agent consumption by 80% and energy consumption by 60%.
• The recovery rate exceeds 95%, marking a breakthrough in sustainable mining.
• It can simultaneously help reduce environmental impacts and improve rare earth recovery rates.

About Rare Earth Elements (REEs)

The rare earth elements (REE) are a group of 17 chemically similar metallic elements important for modern technology, renewable energy, and defense applications. REEs are not truly "rare" in terms of quantity, but are difficult to mine and process due to their wide distribution and the environmental impact of mining.

The 17 Rare Earth Elements

• Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE): Found in greater amounts. Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Promethium (Pm), Samarium (Sm).
• Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE): Less abundant and more critical. Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Holmium (Ho), Erbium (Er), Thulium (Tm), Ytterbium (Yb), Lutecium (Lu).
• Others: Scandium (Sc) and Yttrium (Y), are often grouped with the REEs due to similar properties.

Applications

 Global distribution

Main manufacturers:

• China: Controls 70% of global production and a significant share of reserves.
• Other countries: USA, Australia, Myanmar, Russia.
• Reserves: Top holders include China, Brazil, Vietnam, India, and Australia.

Indian REE scenario

India is the fifth largest holder of REE reserves in the world but produces only a fraction due to:

• Lack of advanced extraction technologies.
• Environmental challenges.
• Reliance on China for imports.

Key Deposits: It occurs in coastal areas (Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu). The primary source is minerals such as monazite sands.

Conclusion

REEs are critical to achieving clean energy goals and technological progress. They are indispensable to India's target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and strategic autonomy in the defense and technology sectors.

Source:

https://scitechdaily.com/revolutionizing-rare-earth-mining-electrokinetic-technology-achieves-95-recovery/#:~:text