Chinese researchers say they have developed a more sustainable and efficient method of rare earth mining.
The new technique uses electric fields to separate rare earth elements, which are often dispersed in low concentrations within ores, and is capable of an “unprecedented” rare earth recovery rate of 95%, while shortening mining time by 70% and electricity savings of 6%.
The new method China has developed also showed a 95% decrease in ammonia emissions compared to conventional methods, which come from leaching agents used in mining, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Rare earth minerals are key to the manufacturing of electronics, smartphones vehicles and weapons and according to the US Geological Survey and the International Energy Agency, China is the world's largest producer of these minerals.
However, their production is limited due to the "disastrous" environmental record associated with their mining, despite rare earth metals such as cerium, lanthanum and neodymium being also used in a range of of low-carbon technologies, including such as wind turbines and catalytic converters.