Grant: Alliance Grants

The separation of rare earths elements (REE) from one another is a costly but essential step in the processing of these strategic metals used in the electrification of transportation and in wind turbines. This project will study a novel pre-separation process able to split the REE in two groups through a selective carbonation of the rare earth oxides of the first group, followed by a dilute HCl leach of these carbonates. This pre-separation step has the potential to reduce the number, cost and environmental impact of the subsequent REE separation steps, to be conducted by conventional solvent extraction (SX).The project will study the selective carbonation and leach (SCL) process at laboratory scale to establish optimal pre-separation conditions and prove-up the process on actual REE ore. A SX simulation software, developed by the researchers during a previous project, will then be used to quantify the impact of integrating the SCL process on the capital and operating costs of REE separation, as well as its effluent production and energy demand, both of which are expected to decrease. Fundamental aspects of the SCL process will also be investigated, along with its applicability to other critical and strategic metals separations.By reducing the operating and capital costs of REE separation by 25-50%, the project will represent a significant milestone enabling Canada to stand out among the countries wishing to extract and process REE. The partners, Commerce Resources Corp. and SGS Canada will stand to benefit from this development of intellectual property and training of highly qualified personnel in the fields of hydrometallurgy and REE.