Review of rare earth elements in acid mine drainage : developing a solution to an engineering problem

Abstract

Rare Earth Elements have become an essential part of utilities and modern technology. The Rare Earths production is heavily dominated by China and Asian markets, leaving the U.S. and Europe heavily dependent on import of these critical resources. Though most Rare Earths are used in the manufacturing process that takes place in China, the lack of a secure domestic stream of Rare Earth Elements leaves the countries vulnerable to a shortage of Rare Earth Elements in times of crisis. This situation poses a potential security risk as Rare Earth Elements are essential to modern military and energy supply systems.The traditional production of Rare Earth Elements is unsuited for mining in the western countries due to economic burderns of processing Rare Earth Elements, however, REEs have been proven to precipitate in sizeable quantities in Acid/Alkaline Mine Drainage, a post-mining process which is highly prominent across West Virginia and the appalachian region of the U.SThis thesis discusses the technical, economic and environmental aspects of Rare Earth Elemens production from Acid/Alkaline Mine Drainage.