Reflections on the advantages and disadvantages of the extraction of Rare Earths [REE]

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Title of the article:
Reflections on the advantages and disadvantages of the extraction of Rare Earths [REE]
by Luigi Franco, LAMANNA (*)
After having made a brief and provocative analysis, through my two previous articles, entitled, the first
"The future miners of the earth's subsoil" and the second "Extraction of rare earths from the seabed
marine", in which I wanted to express need for a new progress or a new "green" transition, so that our
current contemporary culture, the one that has brought us today to a point of no return, is the result of a
very specific geopolitical strategy, rather than an actual technical need-scientific, as many continue to
want us to believe, riding the wave of the Swedish activist [Greta Thunberg] for sustainable development
and against climate change.
Photo 1 – Open pit mine
Today, the geopolitical strategy of the "green" transition has become the most powerful weapon, where
the laws of the market, on the protection of health and the environment, until 30 years ago, were
absolutely unknown topics while, lately, on this topic, a new attempt at scientific and disciplinary
requalification is underway.
In today's reality, market laws are used to get their hands on those particular minerals, which have
become very precious, but cannot be found in their natural state, made up of 15 chemical elements called
"Rare Earths" [whose acronym is REE (Rare Earth Elements )] with atomic numbers ranging from 57 to 71
(the lanthanides), plus scandium and yttrium [and become 17]. Remember that these particular metals
exhibit certain fluorescent, magnetic or conductive properties that make them suitable for use in
components for the high-tech sector, such as permanent magnets, catalysts, rechargeable batteries and
LED lights and displays.
I remind those who have no scientific knowledge that chemical elements are divided into two blocks: Light
Rare Earths [whose acronym is LREE] which are: Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium,
Samarium, Europium and Gadolinium, and Heavy Rare Earths [whose acronym is HREE] which are:
Yttrium, terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium and Lutetium.
I would like to point out to those few who are not aware that many of the Rare Earths [REE] are radioactive
[or that they can even become radioactive during processing] and this makes them dangerous for humans
and the environment (therefore subject to specific disposal regulations) during the techniques of
separation [1], purification [2] and recovery of the portion of raw materials of interest for the market.

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Such as nuclear power plants, where projects require rigorous control in order to prevent any
environmental damage.
Another concern to be highlighted, according to some researchers, is that mineral deposits are linked to
the REE elements with the low-level radioactive element, such as Thorium, whose exposure by those
involved in extraction and separation techniques increases the risk of developing lung, pancreatic and
other cancers unknown to industry medicine.
However, Rare Earths are also used in the medical sector, where they are used to treat certain types of
cancer and to carry out scientific research, as well as in the defense industry, where they are used a lot
for the construction of radar, sonar, lasers and missile guidance systems.
The relevance of REEs stems from both their physical and chemical characteristics, and contrary to their
name, the 17 elements of REEs are relatively common: their rarity comes from the work required to
separate them from the surrounding rock.
However, to divide the REEs, acids and organic solvents are needed, where they make them dangerous
for the ecological context both for CO2 due to emissions produced during extraction as well as for
radioactive and chemical waste which are subsequently discharged into the environment during the
separation phase of this process.
Furthermore, depending on the concentration of the REEs, different extraction methods are employed.
For these different methods, specific technologies and know-how are needed, based on the metal to be
extracted [many are tied to market demands].
The production process, which includes, after separation, the subsequent refining and purification phase
of the REEs, through different mixing and filtration steps, where large amounts of time are required to be
carried out and where this process must take place in suitable facilities.
Photo 2 – Rare-Earth-Elements in periodic table – REE

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To start this program of development and exploitation of old mineral deposits, illustrated in a previous memoir,
where I hope that very soon they will be regulated, through a coordinated "recovery of old deposits, both public and
private, to extract these precious resources present in the subsoil, including the marine one" and of which the
FONDAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE DI CENTRO STUDI E RICERCHE - ONLUS (NGO) [hereinafter it is only mentioned as
FOUNDATION] of which I, as President, represent it, we are organizing to participate, in partnership with some
governments, to the development of an Eco-Sustainable and Eco-Innovative Project, through the creation of an
Innovative Industrial Pole that will interrelate with some representative cases of globalization of industrial
processes.
The FOUNDATION was established, by public deed, as a private law institution, not for profit (NGO), by the
undersigned President LAMANNA Luigi Franco in 2008 with a private endowment fund.
The FOUNDATION, within the Innovative Industrial Pole, has planned to create a Research Center and a Private
University with the aim of helping to patent and commercialize technologies to make the most of innovation,
invention, investments, marketing and entrepreneurship; essential to become competitive in an ever-changing
world, making equity available to students and researchers to fund their education on engagement and investment
opportunities, with participatory startups, to objectives based solely on research and development.
Mineral name Chemical formula
Allanite (REE,Ca,Y)2
(Al,Fe3+
)3
(SiO4
)3
(OH)
Ancylite Sr(REE)(CO3
)2
(OH)•H2
O
Bastnaesite (REE)(CO3
)F
Brannerite (U,Ca,Y,REE)(Ti,Fe)2
O6
Britholite (REE,Ca,Th)5
(SiO4
,PO4
)3
(OH,F)
Burbankite (Na,Ca)3
(Sr,Ba,Ce)3
(CO3
)5
Cerianite-(Ce) (Ce4+
,Th)O2
Eudialyte Na4
(Ca,REE)2
(Fe2+
,Mn,Y)ZrSi8
O22
(OH,Cl)2
Fergusonite-(Y) YNbO4
Florencite (REE)Al3
(PO4
)2
(OH)6
Fluorapatite (Ca,REE,Na)5
(PO4
)3
(F,OH)
Gadolinite (REE,Y)2
Fe2+
Be2
Si2
O10
Gorceixite (Ba,REE)Al3
(PO4
)2
(OH5
• H2
O)
Goyazite (Sr,REE)Al3
(PO4
)2
(OH5
• H2
O)
Iimoriite-(Y) Y2
SiO4
CO3
Kainosite Ca2
(Y,REE)2
Si4
O12
CO3
•H2
O
Loparite-(Ce) (Na,Ce,La,Ca,Sr)(Ti,Nb)O3
Monazite (REE,Th)PO4
Mosandrite (Ca,Na,REE)12
(Ti,Zr)2
Si7
O31
H6
F4
Parisite Ca(REE)2
(CO3
)3
F2
Rhapdophane (REE)PO4
•H2
O
Synchysite Ca(REE)(CO3
)2
F
Thalenite-(Y) Y3Si3O10OH
Xenotime YPO4
Table 1 – List of selected Rare-Earth-Element-Bearing and Yttrium-bearing ore minerals
[Source: Jones and others (1996, Appendix A)]

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Our Innovative Industrial Pole, through the new technological and telematic infrastructures, will implement new
technologies and highly digitized methodologies, according to the most recent developments of intelligent sensors
and communication technologies [new integrated architecture protocols of "air, subsoil and seabed ”, Sixth
generation (6G)] to be able to respond to the growing demand for critical and strategic raw materials that the market
requires, in such a particular moment of the world economy, where there are enormous supply problems.
As well as, we will develop new support materials [indispensable consumer products], where even these products,
of particular resin formulations with a polymeric chain, based on silicate-mineral-organic [non-polluting], at a low
chemical reaction temperature [cold reaction], will be technically advanced, and will be used to guarantee
extraction, both from the earth's subsoil as well as from the great sea beds [depending on the technology that will
be used], in full compliance with the laws on the protection of health and the environment.
Today, the social and environmental costs, always linked to the extraction of these REEs, are very very high, and also
vary considerably according to the geopolitics of the country in which the extraction takes place. In fact, we
[FOUNDATION] are thinking, for our share of the investment, of a system of international cooperatives.
This is one of the reasons why I became a spokesperson for those companies that have control of the
"Rare Earth" mines, emphasizing, in particular to the theoretical gentlemen, both geopolitical and
financial, that it is necessary to create and define urgently, for reasons of market control, a recognized
stock exchange, for the elements of the "Rare Earths" which, to date, does not exist.
We need a recognized stock exchange, such as the one that trades in conventional metals, such as zinc,
copper, nickel and lead, which is listed on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
While gold and silver are traded on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), so as to make it
possible to offer, worldwide, through the creation of this new stock exchange, those conditions that are
particularly advantageous for the end users of REEs.
Photo 3 – Example of a practical scheme for purification, separation and recycling minerals
I would like to point out that it should not come as a surprise to many, but it is urgently necessary to
implement research and development in new forms of "clean" processing, for the extraction and
processing of Rare Earths and their substitutes [Between 1965 and 1995 in Southern California USA, a
federal investigation from the 1990s found that approximately 2,300 liters of radioactive wastewater and
other hazardous waste were spilled into the region's desert soil].
On the other hand, we have always maintained that extraction has a high environmental cost [which is
quite true] and we are all perfectly aware that a new system of innovative and ecological practices must
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be developed to extract REE elements because, some of current processes, use acids for separation and
combustion, even at high temperatures, emitting a lot of CO2 with consequent environmental pollution.
There are several methods known to date for separating and processing REEs. They are physical, magnetic
and chemical. First, the mineral containing REE must be ground and concentrated.
In situ, REEs are mixed with many other minerals in different concentrations. The ore must then go
through a first processing cycle to produce concentrates and from there to another plant which isolates
the REEs into elements of high purity.
Photo 4 – Typical separation flowsheet for REE from Bastnasite and
Monazite, from [Yan et al.,2006] – Report C 211
Subsequently, the concentrated ore is separated into Rare Earth Oxides (REOs), with a higher purity level
at which the individual Rare Earth elements can be measured and traded as commodities according to
market rules.
However, in practice, the chemical properties of the Rare Earth elements make them very difficult to
separate from the surrounding materials from each other and this also makes them more difficult to
purify.
For this reason, the current processing methods for the production of REE require a lot of mineral,
generating a large amount of harmful waste [made of radioactive water, toxic fluorine and acids], only to
extract small quantities of metals called Rare Earths. However, this process is more difficult than simple
extraction.
There is a particular procedure called solvent extraction, in which “the dissolved materials pass through
hundreds of chambers containing liquids that separate individual elements or compounds, with steps that
are repeated many times hundreds or even thousands of times. Once purified, they can be transformed
into oxides, phosphors, metals, alloys and magnets that take advantage of the unique magnetic,
luminescent or electrochemical properties of these elements".
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The great development of new applications of the REE elements, has lead us to numerous changes in the
global economy, in addition to the places of production of the Rare Earths, just to give an example in high-
tech production.
In the light of the above, I briefly illustrated myself, what will be the near future of the elements of the
Rare Earths and what will be the advances in technology where, every technological advance has always
required greater quantities [3] and ever wider varieties of metals.
A very important factor to consider is the geographic distribution of these reserves. In particular, many
are concentrated within the territorial boundaries of one or very few nations and therefore we can
foresee supply problems. Therefore, the geopolitical strategy mentioned above plays an important role
on political decisions and trade relations between the countries involved, as well as, as we have
mentioned above, it can become a very important critical point in the supply chain, through the problems
relating to the extraction and processing processes. of minerals.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize again that mining is not an industry with a low environmental and
climate impact, because it requires fuels that are mainly of fossil origin and contribute significantly to the
greenhouse effect. I also point out that the extraction of many metals from their minerals requires acidic
reactants, which produce acidic waste water and toxic vapors that are very dangerous for workers and for
a good part of the surrounding environment.
Photo 5 - Rare earth elements in hybrid vehicles (Normann, Zou, Barnet 2014)
However, most likely, still perhaps for 50 years, the elements of the REEs will remain an important part of
our future. We will continue to see the growth of wind farms and of which minerals such as neodymium
and dysprosium will continue to be used in wind turbine engines; there will undoubtedly be a growing
demand for Rare Earths in the construction and implementation of new magnets and batteries, this due
to the [momentary] transition from internal combustion cars to electric vehicles which, if we have an
increase in the diffusion of electric cars, will be necessary increasing amounts of various REE metals
especially for batteries.
In my opinion, it all depends on the market demand. There will therefore soon be a major slowdown in
industrial technology, which [industry] already seemed to be projected into science fiction, and which
again, again in my humble opinion as a market analyst, is due to a delay in renewal; a topic which is not
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sufficiently talked about today and which should instead interest us globally because it concerns our near
[not to say immediate] future in the global geopolitical scenario [The main objective of the use of electric
vehicles is to improve the quality of the air breathed in cities, especially in areas with a high population
density and congested by vehicles. But "building an electric car produces the same amount of CO2
emissions as assembling two cars powered by fossil fuels", notes “Laurentino Gutiérrez”. According to
the expert, an electric car needs to travel at least 30-40 thousand kilometers to start being greener than a
petrol vehicle].
The renewal will be a very challenging goal, therefore, before the current situation can become
irreversible, I suggest, an argument that I have never wanted to mention in previous memoirs, because it
deserves very particular attention, which is recycling. This also includes the recovery of Rare Earths
through a wise disposal of electronic devices, smartphones and LED displays. All this is connected to the
discourse of the circular economy.
Photo 6 - Typical optimized separation flowsheet for REE from ion adsorption clay deposits,
from [Yan et al., 2006] – Report C 211
There are still many critical raw materials that are not recycled; a big economic problem because it is
necessary to create an organizational and profitable circuit that does not yet work as it should. In fact, to
guarantee the final properties of the recovered products, proper recycling is required. Many are
recovered from the ashes of the waste-to-energy plants, but the quality is lower than the recycled
material.
Therefore, it is necessary to commit ourselves to correctly recycle waste, rationalize the use of resources,
in particular non-renewable resources [that we all know] and reduce waste through technologically
advanced systems, which guarantee an ethical supply chain through intelligent reuse and a intelligent
recycling, because they also guarantee a consolidated and profitable market. It would be nice if our
current era is recognized, as happened in the mid-sixteenth century, the rebirth of the greatness of the
whole world for its technological and economic development and for its innovative solutions.
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(*) Luigi Franco, LAMANNA
Independent Technical Consultant in the sector of Tunnelling, Mining and Underground Technology
President of the Fondazione Internazionale di Centro Studi e Ricerche, ONG
132, via dei Serpenti, 00184 ROMA, Italy, U.E.
Email: lamannaluigifranco1@gmail.com
Note:
[1] - the process of "separation" in solution, is the one with which the metals are separated from the
solution through different techniques, such as: fractional precipitation, solvent extraction, ion exchange,
membrane processes, adsorption and electro- deposition.
[2] - the "purification" and / or "refining" process is the one with which the recovered metals are further
treated to obtain the desired degree of purity.
[3] - a 3 MW wind generator (or wind turbine or wind turbine, jargon wind blade) contains: about 400
tons of steel, 1,500 tons of cement, 3 tons of aluminum, 5 tons of copper and 2 tons of Rare Earths [
source: NW Mining Association].
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