Extracting rare-earth elements from a gangue heavy fraction
AssigneesGeorgia State University Research Foundation, Inc., Thiele Kaolin Company
InventorsW. Crawford Elliott, Daniel Joseph Gardner, Ed Riley, Prakash Malla
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Abstract
Described herein are technologies for concentrating rare-earth elements from a heavy fraction of grit in gangue produced in kaolin mining. In some examples, grit is separated as a non-clay fraction of gangue produced in a kaolin mining operation. The grit is separated into a heavy mineral grit sub-fraction and a light mineral grit sub-fraction. Rare-earth elements, particularly heavy rare-earth elements, are thereafter extracted from the heavy mineral grit sub-fraction using various extraction technologies.
Claims16
A method of concentrating a rare-earth element, the method comprising:
- receiving crude clay from a mining operation of a kaolin-bearing formation;
- separating the crude clay into a grit and a kaolin clay fraction, wherein the grit is gangue from the mining operation;
- separating the grit fraction into a light mineral grit sub-fraction and a heavy mineral grit sub-fraction;
- and
- concentrating the rare-earth element from the heavy mineral grit sub-fraction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.