SoS RARE

稀土元素（REE）是关键金属供应安全议程的头条。欧盟在2010年和2014年的后续分析中将所有REE定义为临界REE。英国和美国的类似项目强调，“重”稀土（从三稀土到铕）是最有可能在不久的将来面临供应中断和供应短缺风险的金属。稀土元素在现代技术中无处不在，包括计算机和低能耗照明、能源存储设备、大型风力涡轮机和智能材料，使它们的供应对英国社会至关重要。目前面临的挑战是开发新的环境友好型和经济上可行的钕（Nd）和稀土（HREE）矿床，以便在新的绿色技术中继续扩大稀土的使用。该项目的主要目的是了解自然系统中Nd和HREE的流动性和浓度，并研究降低稀土提取和回收对环境影响的新工艺。通过集中研究关键稀土元素，研究范围将广泛，涉及矿床和加工技术。它为NERC和英国提供了一个世界领先的关键稀土元素研究联盟，专注于在催化剂阶段确定的最可能对环境产生低影响的矿床类型，以及连接SoS计划两个目标的研究。该项目将之前催化剂项目（GEM-CRE, MM-FREE）的两个小组聚集在一起，组成一个新的跨学科团队，包括英国稀土地质和冶金领域的顶尖专家，以及材料科学、高/低温流体地球化学、计算模拟/矿物物理学、地球微生物学和生物处理。该团队带来了丰富的背景知识产权和所需的关键技能。该研究响应了行业合作伙伴的需求，涉及实质性的国际合作，以及在REE价值链上更广泛的国际和英国网络。工作方案有两个部分。第一个重点是常规矿床，包括中国以外的所有稀土矿和大多数正在进行的勘探和开发项目。目的是通过矿物学分析、实验和计算模拟，逐步改变对这些天然矿床中稀土元素迁移性的认识。然后，在此基础上，优化最相关的提取方法。第二股着眼于未来，开发一种可持续的稀土提取新方法。重点将放在离子吸附矿床上，使用控制良好的原位浸出操作，可以对任何主要矿石类型的环境影响最小。通过我们从事稀土勘探和开发项目的行业合作伙伴，将立即产生影响，他们将获得改进的矿床模型和更好、更高效、因此更环保的提取技术。当我们发表我们的研究结果时，其他国际团队和公司的研究人员将受益更广泛。稀土供应安全是一个重大的国际问题，本研究所解决的挑战将涉及几乎所有的稀土矿床。尽管英国本身没有世界级的稀土矿床，但经济依赖于稀土（例如，功能材料和设备行业每年价值约30亿英镑），因此英国必须领导对提取过程的研究。使用稀土元素的制造商也将从这项研究中受益，因为他们将获得有关未来钕和稀土元素供应前景的最新信息。这将有助于规划他们的长期产品开发，以及短期采购策略。同样，研究结果将有助于为国家和欧洲一级的政策提供信息，并使更广泛的社区对自然特征和环境资源的重要性产生兴趣、娱乐和教育。

Rare earth elements (REE) are the headline of the critical metals security of supply agenda. All the REE were defined as critical by the European Union in 2010, and in subsequent analysis in 2014. Similar projects in the UK and USA have highlighted 'heavy' REE (HREE - europium through to lutetium) as the metals most likely to be at risk of supply disruption and in short supply in the near future. The REE are ubiquitous within modern technologies, including computers and low energy lighting, energy storage devices, large wind turbines and smart materials, making their supply vital to UK society. The challenge is to develop new environmentally friendly and economically viable, neodymium (Nd) and HREE deposits so that use of REE in new and green technologies can continue to expand.The principal aims of this project are to understand the mobility and concentration of Nd and HREE in natural systems and to investigate new processes that will lower the environmental impact of REE extraction and recovery.By concentrating on the critical REE, the research will be wide ranging in the deposits and processing techniques considered. It gives NERC and the UK a world-leading research consortium on critical REE, concentrating on deposit types identified in the catalyst phase as most likely to have low environmental impact, and on research that bridges the two goals of the SoS programme.The project brings together two groups from the preceding catalyst projects (GEM-CRE, MM-FREE) to form a new interdisciplinary team, including the UK's leading experts in REE geology and metallurgy, together with materials science, high/low temperature fluid geochemistry, computational simulation/mineral physics, geomicrobiology and bioprocessing. The team brings substantial background IP and the key skills required. The research responds to the needs of industry partners and involves substantive international collaboration as well as a wider international and UK network across the REE value chain. The work programme has two strands. The first centres on conventional deposits, which comprise all of the REE mines outside China and the majority of active exploration and development projects. The aim is to make a step change in the understanding of the mobility of REE in these natural deposits via mineralogical analysis, experiments and computational simulation. Then, based on this research, the aim is to optimise the most relevant extraction methods. The second strand looks to the future to develop a sustainable new method of REE extraction. The focus will be the ion adsorption deposits, which could be exploited with the lowest environmental impact of any of the main ore types using a well-controlled in-situ leaching operation.Impact will be immediate through our industry partners engaged in REE exploration and development projects, who will gain improved deposit models and better and more efficient, and therefore more environmentally friendly, extraction techniques. There will be wider benefits for researchers in other international teams and companies as we publish our results. Security of REE supply is a major international issue and the challenges tackled in this research will be relevant to practically all REE deposits. Despite the UK not having world class REE deposits itself, the economy is reliant on REE (e.g. the functional materials and devices industry is worth ~£3 Bn p.a.) and therefore the UK must lead research into the extraction process. Manufacturers who use REE will also benefit from the research by receiving up to date information on prospects for future Nd and HREE supply. This will help plan their longer term product development, as well as shorter term purchasing strategy. Likewise, the results will be useful to inform national and European level policy and to interest, entertain and educate the wider community about the natural characters and importance of the REE.