Published September 2024
Green technologies are the primary driving factor promoting the significance of rare-earth minerals (REMs). The market for light rare-earth elements (LREEs) [particularly neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr)] is expected to expand dramatically as attention turns to renewable energy sources. NdPr oxide is the main raw material for permanent magnets (NdFeB magnets) in wind turbines and electrical vehicles (EVs). Nearly 70%-80% of the total value of the rare-earth oxide (REO) sector is derived from the market for permanent magnets. Mainland China is the leader in the production of LREEs and the downstream processing of rare-earth elements (REEs); however, the production now needs to move out of mainland China because of supply chain issues and other reasons.
Rearranging the manufacturing chain globally is crucial as it helps reduce the reliance on mainland China for the extraction of REEs from their respective ores. The production of REEs (in the form of chlorides) from run-of-mine (ROM) Mountain Pass ore is covered in Part I of this review, while Part II discusses the production of REEs (in the form of oxides) from their corresponding chlorides because mineral processing for REE extraction is a tedious job. To achieve the appropriate LREE chlorides, the ROM is crushed, ground, physically beneficiated, chemically beneficiated, and then crystallized. Part I of the analysis includes an economic evaluation for a mineral processing plant located at a US Gulf Coast location that can produce 54,730.4 metric tons per year (t/y) of rare-earth chlorides (RECl3) from Mountain Pass ore containing 12% bastnäsite with 7.7% REO within it by weight. The technology presented here would be of great interest to industrial sectors and grassroots plants willing to use bastnäsite ore metallurgical and extractive processing for REEs.
The process flow diagrams, material balance, major equipment list with specifications, cost information for battery limits, variable costs, capital expenditure (capex) and operating expenditure (opex), and total production costs are evaluated in this analysis. The technological and economic assessment of the process is the Process Economics Program (PEP)’s independent interpretation of a potential commercial process. Each of these is based on the information presented in the open literature, such as patents or technical articles, and may not reflect in whole or in part the actual plant configuration. We do believe that these sources are sufficient to represent the process and process economics within the range of accuracy necessary for the economic evaluations of the conceptual process designs.