Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines

Other

Montana Tech of the University of Montana

Ut-battelle, Inc.

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.

University of Tennessee Research Foundation

Eck Industries, Inc.

Corby G Anderson

Edward Rosenberg

Paul J Miranda

Hao Cui

Orlando Rios

David J Weiss

Hunter B Henderson

Bruce A Moyer

Zachary C Sims

Ryan T Ott

Scott McCall

Michael S Kesler

Kimberly D Conner

Grant T Colligan

Brock O'Kelley

Benjamin V Kronholm

Joseph Grogan

Gerard P Martins

With the world's rapid advancement of technology, the demand and need for the materials that make up that technology has exploded. An important group of materials needed in this rapid advancement are the rare earth elements (REE) used in countless necessary applications. One source of rare earths found in the United States is bastnaesite, a rare earth bearing fluorocarbonate, mined at the Mountain Pass Mine in California. To increase production, it has been essential to optimize existing processes and create new ones to exploit current reserves. This research program was run to expand the understanding of the bastnaesite leaching system. A novel single stage hydrochloric leach system was created to optimize the rare earth extraction from bastnaesite. Typically, this process has utilized a two-stage leach system involving a high temperature hydrochloric acid leach followed by a caustic crack.

Advanced systems and methods for leaching rare earths from ore

The disclosure concerns methods for making a composition comprising a light metal and an intermetallic comprising the light metal and a light rare earth element. The composition also may include a plurality of nanoparticles comprising an oxide of the light metal. The method includes directly reducing a light rare earth element precursor compound in a melt of the light metal, thereby forming the light rare earth element and nanoparticles of the light metal oxide.

Production of castable light rare earth rich light metal compositions from direct reduction processes

Disclosed herein is a treated ore solid comprising a reduced amount of a contaminant, for example arsenic, compared to the ore solid prior to treatment. Also disclosed are temperature and pressure modifications, parameters, and methods for treating an ore solid by pressure oxidation leaching of enargite concentrates. The disclosed methods and processes may be applied to copper sulfide orebodies and concentrates containing arsenic. In some cases, the disclosed methods and systems extract, remove, or reduce contaminants, for example arsenic, from an ore containing solution at moderately increased temperature, pressure, and oxygen concentration, and in the presence of an acid.

Method of leaching arsenic from ore comprising copper

Disclosed herein are methods, techniques, and processes for enhancing the purity of a mixed rare earth solution. In one embodiment the rare earth mixture may include Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Scandium, and/or Yttrium. In one embodiment, the resin is a chelating resin that interacts poorly with one or more rare earth elements. In one embodiment a rare earth is selectively excluded for example, Lanthanum (sometimes considered a transition metal), Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Scandium, and/or Yttrium. In one embodiment, yttrium is selectively excluded from the column.

Upgrade of yttrium in a mixed rare earth stream using iminodiacetic acid functionalized resin

Disclosed herein are methods and systems for recovery of ancylite, a rare earth mineral comprising strontium carbonate, from rare earth ore. In many embodiments, the disclosed methods and systems provide for recovery of greater than 50% of the ancylite from an ancylite containing ore. In many embodiments, the ore is subjected to flotation in the presence of an acid, for example a hydroxamic acid, such as octanohydroxamic acid. The ore may also be subjected to magnetic separation, for example wet high intensity magnetic separation.

Beneficiation of rare earth elements bearing ancylite

A system and method for decoating a scrap coated metal in a leach solution uses direct measuring of the corrosion potential of the scrap metal in the system to determine the progress of the decoating process and end the process when the scrap is decoated. Corrosion potential measurements are made using a working electrode comprising more than one piece of scrap coated-metal within the system. The decoating system and method may include a system for recycling leach solution.

Decoating of coated materials

Oxine ligands placed on styrene base ion exchange resins selectively remove iron and gallium from acidic solutions. After loading, the oxine resin is stripped of the loaded metals and used again for further metal removal. The resins can be used for process streams, acid rock drainages, or any other iron or gallium containing solution.

Styrene based ion exchange resins with oxine functionalized groups

Growing community of inventors

Butte, MT, United States of America

Corby G Anderson