Project: ENVIronmentally friendly and efficient methods for extraction of Rare Earth Elements from secondary sources

Acronym	ENVIREE
Duration	01/12/2014 - 30/04/2018
Project Topic	The ENVIREE project develops processes making it possible to extract REE from different types of secondary sources currently handled as waste. The developed leaching processes will be more environmentally friendly than the current ones, thus making REE extraction possible in Europe again. Various waste materials (mostly tailings from other metals mining and processing) will be investigated with respect to their REE potential. Optimized leaching processes will be developed. Plant uptake for both recovery of sites and enrichment of REE at the same time (biosorption and bio-precipitation) will be studied. Life cycle analysis will be performed to guide the selection of optimal processes and land reclamation. This will be combined with remediation studies and suggestions for the different selected sites. We will also put a significant effort in education and training of young scientists and students in the relevant scientific fields.
Project Results (after finalisation)	The ENVIREE project aimed at strengthening the REE supply within Europe by addressing exploitation of specific secondary sources. The purpose was to study innovative approaches in processing (beneficiation, leaching and separation) of identified materials and to provide economic and environmental assessment of the tested methods. ENVIREE was a highly multidisciplinary project with competences ranging from analysis techniques using e.g. Mössbauer to the more visual knowledge-based mineralogy in the field, and in size from molecule level to ton scale. This wide scope made the initial work challenging when several disciplines, each with their own science language were to agree on what to do and how. In addition to these more technical works there was also an extensive training and education activity. 7 Project ENVIREE ENVIronmentally friendly and efficient methods for extraction of Rare Earth Elements from secondary sources Large sampling scheme implemented within ENVIREE did lead to a very useful information on REE content of different mine wastes in different countries and although only three samples were selected for further treatment the analysis of the remaining ones can serve as a basis for further research and potential exploitation depending on REE prices and demand in the future. The base for the analysis was that the samples were grinded and homogenised before the actual analysis was made using neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence and inducted coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis. The most REE rich residue was the one from New Kankberg in Sweden with about 500 ppm REE content. For the selected samples from Portugal and Sweden efficient beneficiation techniques were developed and applied proving that the REE content in the ultimately treated material could be increased by orders of magnitude thus increasing the potential market efficiency of the following selective separation scheme. The basic techniques used here were gravimetry for the Portuguese samples increasing the concentration from 52 to 284 ppm and flotation techniques for New Kankberg increasing this content to more than 5000 ppm. Not surprisingly the dominating REE were lanthanum, cerium and neodymium. For the separation CYANEX based systems were used for e.g. the New Kankberg beneficiated samples. This was tested in lab scale and a small pilot test was run. The DGA based systems did not show enough promise for further development. Also some complete novel ligands were tested successfully but due to limited supply not used for upscaling. Other techniques such as hollow fibres and ionic liquids were tested in smaller scale with promising results but not developed further to pilot plant scale. All in all the separation schemes developed clearly showed the technical feasibility of the techniques adopted in ENVIREE. To further show the potential profitability for both environment and economy, studies and environmental analyses were made for selected processing scenarios making it possible to guide future prospectors in this field. It was clear that even for the very rich samples from New Kankberg there were clear benefits to treat the material at the same place as the original mining activities for energy conservation. For the reclamation of the mining sites it was shown that the remaining material for the New Kankberg material could be stored on the surface and used as a soil substrate in land reclamation. The situation for the more sulphur-rich residue from the Covas site there was a need for neutralisation processes before the material could be used for reclamation purposes, which gives a negative impact for the overall, holistic system evaluation. Last but not least the training and education work within ENVIREE has been highly successful with practical field trips combined with theoretical courses in all the scientific areas included. This gave the participating younger scientists a unique possibility to broaden their competence and thus lay the foundations for a more holistic approach to not only mine waste use but also to potential use in primary material recovery. Consortium partners: BRGM (France); CEA (France); KIT (Germany); PIPAS (Norway); AGH UST (Poland); R.O.T. (Poland); EDM (Portugal); IST-ID (Portugal); AICU (Romania); CGS (South Africa) 10
Website	visit project website
Network	ERA-MIN
Call	ERA-MIN 2nd Joint Call on Sustainable Supply of Raw Materials in Europe

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Chalmers University of Technology	Coordinator	Sweden
2	University of Science and Technology/Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanislawa Staszica w Krakowie	Partner	Poland
3	Alexandru Ioan Cuza University	Partner	Romania
4	Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento	Partner	Portugal
5	Karlsruher Institut für Technologie	Observer	Germany
6	Primus.inter.pares AS	Observer	Norway
7	Commissariat A L Energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives	Partner	France
8	Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, S.A.	Partner	Portugal
9	Council for Geoscience	Partner	South Africa
10	SR.O.T. Recycling Odpady Technologie S.C. K. Tyrała E. Hulek	Partner	Poland
11	Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières	Partner	France