EURARE

Development of a sustainable exploitation scheme for Europe’s Rare Earth ore deposits

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'With numerous European industries heavily depended on imported REE raw materials, there is a need for EU to secure a viable supply of REE minerals as well as develop from the ground up the currently non-existent European REE extraction and processing industry. The goal of the EURARE project will be (i) to characterize the potential REE resources in Europe; and (ii) to research, develop, optimize and demonstrate technologies for the efficient and economically viable exploitation of currently available European REE deposits with minimum consequences to the environment. In the EURARE project, the mineral processing technologies currently used for the REEs minerals will be investigated for representative European REE ores, with a tendency for improvement by adopting new approaches for the complete ore utilization and minimal environmental consequences, establishing integrated mineral processing systems, with zero or close to zero tailings. The current state-of-the-art processes for REE extraction follows complicated, energy and resource intensive technologies. The EURARE project aims in developing novel cost-effective and resource-efficient REE extraction process, tailored specifically for European REE ore deposits as well as for European health, safety and environmental protection standards. As an added value to the work already described, EURARE will seek to demonstrate new sources for REE exploitation from industrial metallurgical waste which will not only be financial lucrative but will minimize the overall environmental footprint of the primary European metallurgical industry. Special attention in all cases will be given in health, safety and social issues, in light of naturally occurring radioactive elements. At the end of the EURARE project it is expected that a novel sustainable exploitation schema for Europe's REE deposits will have been established'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Europe needs to better manage its unexploited mining resources. An EU-funded project is laying the groundwork for developing a European industry that will safeguard the uninterrupted supply of rare earth raw materials.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

From electric and conventional cars to computers and smartphones, rare earth elements (REEs) are vital components of many modern technologies. However, numerous European industries heavily depend on imported REE raw materials. As such, there is a need to secure a viable supply and develop from square one the currently non-existent European REE extraction and processing industry.

The EU-funded project 'Development of a sustainable exploitation scheme for Europe's rare earth ore deposits' (http://www.eurare.eu/ (EURARE)) is working to meets its aims through mapping, characterising and performing a techno-economic evaluation of REE resources in Europe. Furthermore, scientists need to develop, optimise and demonstrate innovative technologies for efficiently exploiting European REE resources with minimal impact on the environment. These activities should comply with the EU environmental legislation and should be performed in a socially acceptable manner in each location.

REE mineral deposits from four different European regions will be mined and treated with novel sustainable technologies at beneficiation pilot plants. The concentrates produced, along with the red mud by-product from primary aluminium production, will be used in two processing pilot plants in Germany and Greece. The final products, REE compounds, metals and magnets will be evaluated by appropriate European end users.

Project partners have hitherto conducted geological surveys in 20 countries, obtaining a list of 81 REE occurrences and details of the mineralogical characteristics of each place. Starting with low-grade ore concentrates, EURARE has already developed two novel processes for efficient recovery of REE metals or alloys. Another achievement has been an innovative process for REE extraction and separation.

Along with a survey regarding the need for new EU legislation for REE mining and processing, EURARE members have delivered an environmental, health, and safety guideline report.

Project activities are stimulating more cost-effective and resource-efficient extraction processes compared to the state of the art, while paying attention to health, safety and social issues.