The present and perspectives of rare earth elements mining in the world
Abstract
As we enter the accelerated automation era and the so-called green revolution, the demand for rare earth elements (REE) grows. But what are these elements? Fifteen of them belong to the lanthanoids or lanthanides: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), as well as yttrium (Y) and scandium (Sc) from the transition metals. The main REE ore-minerals are bastnäsite, monazite, loparite and ion adsorption clays. The fi rst three occur in carbonate or phosphate primary deposits, while the clay type of enrichments is related to sedimentation. There are many deposits around the globe, but few have been assessed so far. In recent years, the Chinese hegemony in extraction and resource/reserve evaluation seems to be breaking down. More and more countries are entering the rare earth elements market and conducting explorations. That is welcome news in respect of mutual raw material security, especially in the shadow of global phenomena such as the coronavirus, chip shortages, or monopoly situations. At the same time, Europe is trying to catch up and assess its raw material potential somewhat behind schedule. The following conclusions are made about the world’s rare earth deposits and their potential. China, the most dominant player in the market, has vast carbonatite and hydrothermal mineralization. Mining of ion adsorption clays is significant too. The next big player in rare earth mining in Asia could be Vietnam, but Russia and India also have enormous reserves. Looking at North America, the USA is dominated by carbonatite deposits, such as Elk Creek, while in Canada, they are more of hydrothermal origin. In South America, Brazil is considered to have the third largest reserves of rare earths. Australia is a dominant player both in extraction and in terms of net mineral wealth. Africa’s rare earth mining occurs in Madagascar from high-quality ion adsorption plants. The Republic of South Africa has one of the best monazite deposits in the world. Additional carbonatite deposits occur in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, etc. The dependence of the European Union on raw materials and the achievement of the climate goals set in the Green Deal can be promoted by such crucial discoveries as the Swedish Per Greijer deposit this year. Europe’s more well-explored raw material deposits are located in Scandinavia and Greenland, such as the carbonate Fen, Alnö, or the complex peralkaline Kvanefjeld. Many European Raw Material Alliance partners are exploring further opportunities across the continent.
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