Hydrometallurgical extraction of rare earth elements from low grade mine tailings

Sebastiaan Peelman, Zhi Sun, Jilt Sietsma, Yongxiang Yang

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

    Abstract

    The rare earth elements (REEs) present in the Kiruna iron ore mine tailings are being considered as a new REE resource for the EU. These tailings, after beneficiation, contain approximately 5000 ppm of rare earths, concentrated in apatite and monazite minerals. To economically extract the REEs from these tailings the phosphorous contained within the apatite must also be extracted and the waste production of the process should be minimal. To achieve the extraction of REEs and phosphorous HCl and HNO3 were investigated as possible leaching agents. Based on the results a leaching process using HNO3 is proposed. This process produces H3PO4 from the apatite while simultaneously dissolving the REEs. The resulting leach liquor is then cooled to remove the unwanted Ca as Ca(NO3)2. Analysis of the leach liquor reveals extraction ratios of between 75% and 100% for the heavy REE (e.g. Y, Eu, Dy, …) and below 40% from the light REEs (i.e. Ce, La). Full phosphorous extraction was also achieved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationRare Metal Technology 2016
    EditorsS. Alam, H. Kim, N.R. Neelameggham, T. Ouchi, H. Oosterhof
    Place of PublicationHoboken, NJ, USA
    PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons
    Pages17-29
    ISBN (Print)978-1-119-23107-3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016
    EventSymposium Rare Earth Technology 2016 - Nashville, TN, United States
    Duration: 14 Feb 201618 Feb 2016

    Conference

    ConferenceSymposium Rare Earth Technology 2016
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityNashville, TN
    Period14/02/1618/02/16

    Keywords

    • Rare earths
    • Apatite
    • Phosphoric acid production
    • Low grade REE resources

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