Technology
How rare earths are processed, and where we focus.
Rare earth elements travel a long path from rock to magnet. Each step has a mature industry standard and a fast-moving state of the art. This is a plain map of that landscape, with the published sources behind it, and a clear marker of where our work concentrates.
The processing value chain
REEs occur in many deposit types. We specialise in the more clay-like deposits, known technically as ion-adsorption clay (IAC) deposits, where the rare earths sit loosely adsorbed on clay surfaces rather than locked in hard mineral lattices.
Mining & deposit type
Hard-rock (bastnäsite, monazite) vs. ion-adsorption clay deposits. Deposit chemistry sets every downstream choice.
Comminution, washing & grinding
Crushing, grinding and washing liberate REE-bearing phases and remove gangue. The gateway to all wet processing.
Beneficiation & feedstock upgrading
Gravity, magnetic, flotation and classification raise grade before chemistry, the step that decides reagent load and cost downstream.
Leaching / cracking
Acid bake, caustic crack, or ion-exchange leaching (ammonium / magnesium sulfate for clays) bring REEs into solution.
Separation & refining
Solvent extraction cascades split mixed REE into individual oxides. The hardest, most capital-intensive step in the chain.
Reduction & magnet making
Oxides become metals, alloys and finally sintered NdFeB magnets. Long customer qualification cycles.
Where our solution sits
Our specialisation
We work after washing and grinding, improving the feedstock before it reaches the chemical plant, and then use a continuous processing method to further separate and refine. We are deliberately specialising on a narrow spot in the chain rather than trying to own every step.
Our deposit focus is the clay-type ion-adsorption resources, which carry a different chemistry and impurity profile than hard-rock bastnäsite or monazite.
The discipline we hold to
Continuous flow and intensified contacting can reduce the time and equipment volume needed for each separation stage. They do not change the underlying equilibrium chemistry of a given split. We keep those two ideas separate: the credible advantage is faster, smaller, lower-cost separation at the same purity, not a claim to break chemistry.
Browse the technology libraryIndustry standard vs. state of the art
For each technology family, the established practice and the leading edge. Maturity is flagged so it is clear what is proven at scale versus still emerging.
Gravity, magnetic & flotation upgrading
Industry standard
Mature for hard-rock bastnäsite/monazite; froth flotation with fatty-acid or hydroxamate collectors is the workhorse concentrator.
State of the art
Selective collectors, combined gravity–magnetic–flotation flowsheets and finer liberation control to lift concentrate grade while cutting reagent use.
Sources: L1, L7, L8
Ion-exchange leaching of clay deposits
Industry standard
Ammonium sulfate (in-situ or heap) leaching is the dominant route for ion-adsorption clays, where REEs sit loosely adsorbed on clay surfaces.
State of the art
Magnesium sulfate and engineered leaching agents to cut ammonia pollution, plus mechanistic models to lift recovery and reduce impurity co-leaching.
Sources: L2, L4, L5, L6
Multi-stage solvent extraction (SX)
Industry standard
Long mixer-settler cascades (often hundreds of stages) with organophosphorus extractants are the global standard for separating individual REEs.
State of the art
Simulation-driven cascade design, binary/synergistic extractants and dynamic modelling from equilibrium data to shorten circuits and stabilise purity.
Sources: L9, L10, L11
Agitated columns & centrifugal contactors
Industry standard
Conventional SX uses large-footprint mixer-settlers with long residence times and high solvent inventory.
State of the art
Agitated extraction columns and centrifugal contactors cut footprint, residence time and solvent inventory at equal separation, proven in the nuclear fuel cycle.
Sources: L12, L13
Membrane & micro-extraction
Industry standard
Not yet a primary industrial route; SX dominates.
State of the art
Selective membranes, membrane-dispersion micro-extractors and chromatographic methods for low-concentration recovery and tighter selectivity.
Sources: L14, L15, L16