Review of rare earth mineral processing technology
CIM Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2013
J. Zhang
Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, SK
C. Edwards
AMEC Americas Ltd., Saskatoon, SK
The versatility and specificity of rare earth elements (REEs) have led to their use in an ever-increasing variety of applications in new technologies; consequently, demand for REEs has increased significantly. However, separating REEs safely and effectively is a complex and expensive process. This paper presents a review of REE mineral processing technologies, providing an update on current capabilities in REE mineral processing and REE extraction from the major commercially valuable REE-bearing minerals such as bastnaesite, monazite, and xenotime, as well as the ion-absorption type of REE deposits.
Keywords:
Rare earth, Mineral processing, Bastnaesite, Monazite, Xenotime, Ion-absorption–type rare earth, Gravity separation, Magnetic separation, Flotation
