Dalaroo Prepares Maiden Work Program for Blue Lagoon Zirconium, Niobium and

An unsustainable market dynamic

At present, China is responsible for nearly 90 percent of all REE processing and 60 percent of global supply. Part of the problem, notes Reuters, is the solvent extraction process China uses to refine the critical minerals. Though highly effective, western companies have historically struggled to deploy it due to a combination of technical complexity and environmental concerns.

China, unfortunately, has no such concerns. Much has already been written about the dismal state of the Chinese mining sector. Kachin State in Myanmar, for instance, is dominated by rare earths mines that cover a surface area roughly the size of Singapore. Many of these mines are entirely unregulated and unsafe for both the people and the environment.

Although the Chinese government recently began flirting with sustainability as it pursues a transition to electric vehicles, it has actually been ramping up rare earths production over the past several years. This is in spite of the country’s stated policy of shifting away from REE production to REE processing.

A report by Harvard International Review notes that producing a single ton of rare earths yields roughly 2,000 tons of toxic waste. The report further adds that Bayan-Obo, located in Inner Mongolia, China, and the largest rare earths production and processing facility in the world, has to date produced over 70,000 tons of radioactive thorium. This hazardous material is stored on site in a tailing pond, where it has contributed heavily to groundwater toxicity.

Moreover, conventional solvent extraction also requires significant volumes of energy and water. One report noted that the process is responsible for roughly 30 percent of REE production’s environmental impact, adding that it could also contribute heavily to global warming, eutrophication of aquatic environments, and toxicity in humans.

As demand for REEs continues to increase, so too will production and processing, resulting in potentially more damaging environmental consequences. This paradigm arguably makes it functionally impossible to truly achieve carbon neutrality.

Finding a way forward through innovation

In recent years, western companies have made enormous strides in developing cleaner, more efficient solvent extraction techniques. Emerging production and processing strategies are considerably more sustainable, eschewing harmful chemicals and producing considerably less waste. Examples of technologies and techniques include:

Circular processing

In 2020, the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and the Saskatchewan government announced plans to create Canada’s first rare earths processing facility. The first-of-its-kind facility combines…