![]() 2 If well managed, REE can play a pivotal role in the Green Initiative movement to offset the accumulation of greenhouse gasses, including their indispensable role in wind turbine generators and electric vehicle motors. 1 However, processing of REE ores poses potential hazards to human health and the environment due to challenges in the management of thorium (Th) and uranium (U) in waste products. Rare-earth elements (REEs) are required for use in modern high-tech applications and demand has increased significantly over the last decade. Graphical abstractĮxample of a bastnäsite from the Mountain Pass Mine, CA, and (b) monazite concentrate from the Manchester Mine, NJ. This article reviews and summarizes the past and current REE processing technologies, commonly employed REE separation routes and methods, and suggests ways to increase efficiency in future REE processing. Increasing demand can be partially satisfied by recycling, but reliable and continuous increases in supply will also require new mineral resources, improved process efficiency, and lower production costs. REE recoveries from ore are limited by current technology and plant practice to 50–80 percent. The REE industry appears to be at the intersection of strong, but conflicting forces, including public and political support for a Green Revolution and sustainability, as well as the need for a clean, reliable, and socially responsible supply chain. The last several years have seen exponential growth in research due to growth in demand of REE that is threatened by supply risks and environmental obstacles. The databases of rare earth deposits and occurrences provides descriptive information where available on mineralogy, host and associated rocks and ages, alteration, sizes and grades of resources and production, and references the data in the spatial database include location.Significant academic research and moderate commercial process innovation on rare-earth element (REE) processing have been underway for decades. In addition, 820 deposits and occurrences for which no location was found or determined are stored in a geodatabase table "Global_REE_nonspatial_table" and the over 1590 references are stored in a geodatabase table "All_Global_REE_references" which were used to compile these data. Spatial and descriptive data for 3100 rare earth deposits and occurrences around the world are stored in the rare earth geodatabase feature class "Global_REE" for use in a geographic information system (GIS). The geodatabase contains more than 3100 records with latitudes and longitudes and more than 800 records without plottable locations. The distribution of known occurrences allows us to understand the factors that control their distributions, the degree of variation within deposit types, and, through the use of analogy, to forecast areas where similar deposits and occurrences may occur. ![]() Databases that summarize the distribution of known occurrences and their geologic setting are an integral part of a geologically-based evaluation of undiscovered mineral resources. Rare earths, as used in this report, includes the chemically similar lanthanide group of elements, as well as yttrium. This inventory documents the geologic occurrence of rare earths, including mineralogy, type of deposit or occurrence, host rocks and alteration, and any quantitative data related to size and grade from publicly available data. This spatial database "usgs_Global_REE.gdb" was created for use in a geographic information system (GIS) to support research on global rare earth deposits and occurrences by the U.S.
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