REE Recovery from Mine Tailings & Effluents and Mineral Industrial Residue in the Context of Waste Management

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 2297

Special Issue Editors

Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre Eau Terre Environnement, Québec City, QC G1K 9A9, Canada
Interests: e-waste; miner residue; strategical metals; hydrometallurgy
1. Coalia Institute, Thetford Mines, QC G6G 1N1, Canada
2. l'université de Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 5E4, Canada
Interests: hydrometallurgy; mineral processing; critical and strategical minerals; extractive metallurgy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rare earth elements (REEs) have played a key role in our modern life. Due to their unique physical and chemical proprieties, REEs have been extensively used in various industrial applications such as modern electronics, green energy (wind power), transportation (hybrid and electric automobiles) and military applications. To keep up with the globally growing demand in a context where REEs extraction is becoming increasingly more stringent, due to the primary resource's scarcity and high extraction costs, the industry is increasingly turning to the recycling of different end-of-life products, mining and industrial residues.

Besides, the huge quantity of mining and urban mining wastes generated through all steps of mineral exploitation; mineral industrial production as well as at the end-of-life (EOL) of some products like permanent magnets and electronic and electrical equipment (EEE), require suitable management not to be a source of environmental pollution while they could be a promising potential as REEs sources. In light of this, new ideas to develop more advanced REEs recovery technologies from mine tailings and effluents, mineral industrial residues and EOL products are required to mitigate and minimize wastes management activities.

This Special Issue aims to collect a range of articles on different aspects of REEs recovery as secondary sources. The goal is to decipher all new technology and basic processes in REEs production. We hope this open-access Special Issue will provide a great opportunity to discuss the work of researchers working in this field around the world. Articles in all areas of hydrometallurgy, biohydrometallurgy, extractive metallurgy, and effluent treatment are highly welcome.

Dr. Lan Huong Tran
Dr. Nassima Kemache
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • rare earth elements 
  • secondary sources 
  • residue deposits 
  • acid drainage mining 
  • industrial effluent 
  • recovery

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 17593 KiB  
Article
Effects of Salinity and pH on Clay Colloid Aggregation in Ion-Adsorption-Type Rare Earth Ore Suspensions by Light Scattering Analysis
by Liang Li, Li Wang and Qiaochu Liu
Minerals 2023, 13(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13010038 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1684
Abstract
Ion-adsorption-type rare earth ores (IREOs) are an indispensable strategic resource. Rare earths can be extracted from IREOs by means of in situ leaching, which is strongly influenced by the migration of clay components. In order to clarify the effect of the interaction between [...] Read more.
Ion-adsorption-type rare earth ores (IREOs) are an indispensable strategic resource. Rare earths can be extracted from IREOs by means of in situ leaching, which is strongly influenced by the migration of clay components. In order to clarify the effect of the interaction between mineral particles on the rare earth leaching process, the aggregation of IREO colloids was investigated in suspension after NaCl concentration and pH value were disturbed based on a light scattering method. The results show that IREO colloids are prone to unstable aggregation, which can be affected by salinity and pH in suspension. Combined with the analysis of the surface acid–base properties and the zeta potential of the IREO colloids, the long-range electrostatic attraction between mineral heterogeneous charge surfaces plays a leading role in the interaction between mineral particles. In suspension, electrolyte concentration and pH can adjust the strength of the electrostatic force and the force field overlapping between the surface double electric layers to influence the aggregation of the IREO colloids. The above conclusion can enrich and supplement the rare earth extraction theory, which has a certain guiding significance for green exploitation of IREOs. Full article
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