Rare Earths Race: Plan to Turn Ash Into Critical Metals

Rare earths race: plan to turn ash into critical metals

Researchers have come up with a bold plan to extract rare earth metals, critical to defence, technology and...

Australian university turns coal waste into critical metals opportunity

Australia can double rare earths without a single new mine

Engineers from one of Australia’s leading universities have developed scalable technology that turns fly ash waste from coal-fired power stations into a rich source of all 17 rare earth elements. Related article: Scientists want global trust to safeguard critical minerals Australia’s coal-fired power stations generate millions of tonnes of fly ash each year. Monash University engineers have developed a breakthrough process that can recover more …

Researchers target rare earths from coal-fired power stations - Australian Mining

Image: André Muller/stock.adobe.com Australia’s coal-fired power stations could provide a source of rare earth elements, if a new recovery process is proven. Researchers from Monash University believe they are able to extract more than 90 per cent of the critical minerals found within fly ash – a by-product of coal. An “urban mining” process could also apply to mine tailings and even old electronics. Millions of tonnes of fly ash are produced by…