Mining engineers research extraction of rare-earth elements from coal seams - Entrepreneur Generations

Coal, it turns out, isn't the only useful thing you can extract from a seam. You might also be able to find lanthanides, the 15 rare-earth elements that can be found in coal seams, coal mining waste, and in the by-products of coal-fired power plants. China is the world's leading producer of lanthanides, but researchers in Western Kentucky are hoping to change that, Matt Hughes reports for the Journal Enterprise in Providence, Ky.

University of Kentucky mining engineering professor Rick Honaker is leading a team to study lanthanide extraction in a former mine in Webster County. A U.S. Department of Energy grant is funding the work, and Alliance Resource Partners is pitching in to do the digging, Hughes reports.

The work is a matter of national security, Honaker said, since China is not only the world's largest producer of lanthanides, but is trying to buy up all the rare earths from other countries. The U.S. government would be uncomfortable with China cornering the market since lanthanides are a critical component in many electronics, he said.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2SRNour Mining engineers research extraction of rare-earth elements from coal seams - Entrepreneur Generations

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