The present disclosure relates to processes for treating a coal associated material, e.g., acid mine drainage, while simultaneously recovering a high-grade rare earth preconcentrate suitable for extraction of commercially valuable rare earth oxides. Disclosed herein are methods for preparing a hydraulic pre-concentrate enriched in rare earth elements and critical minerals. Also disclosed herein are methods for preparing a pregnant leach solution from the disclosed hydraulic pre-concentrates. The present disclosure also relates to systems and plants for carrying out the disclosed processes. Also disclosed are compositions produced by the process disclosed herein in which the compositions comprise rare earth elements. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to processes for treating a coal associated material, e.g., acid mine drainage, while simultaneously recovering a high-grade rare earth preconcentrate suitable for extraction of commercially valuable rare earth oxides. Disclosed herein are methods for preparing a hydraulic pre-concentrate enriched in rare earth elements and critical minerals. Also disclosed herein are methods for preparing a pregnant leach solution from the disclosed hydraulic pre-concentrates. The present disclosure also relates to systems and plants for carrying out the disclosed processes. Also disclosed are compositions produced by the process disclosed herein in which the compositions comprise rare earth elements. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A new system in which a forward extraction part, a scrubbing part, and a backward extraction part operate together and synchronously to produce specific substances by extraction and separation in a liquid-liquid system. The aqueous phase is circulated independently only in the forward extraction part one or more times, and the organic phase is circulated from the forward extraction part through the scrubbing part and the backward extraction part to the forward extraction part again in synchronization with the liquid circulation of the aqueous phase.

A new system in which a forward extraction part, a scrubbing part, and a backward extraction part operate together and synchronously to produce specific substances by extraction and separation in a liquid-liquid system. The aqueous phase is circulated independently only in the forward extraction part one or more times, and the organic phase is circulated from the forward extraction part through the scrubbing part and the backward extraction part to the forward extraction part again in synchronization with the liquid circulation of the aqueous phase.

Systems and methods for sequestering carbon, evolving hydrogen gas, producing iron oxide as magnetite, and producing magnesium carbonate as magnesite through sequential carbonation and serpentinization/hydration reactions involving processed olivine- and/or pyroxene-rich ores, as typically found in mafic and ultramafic igneous rock. Precious or scarce metals, such nickel, cobalt, chromium, rare earth elements, and others, may be concentrated in the remaining ore to facilitate their recovery from any gangue material.

Systems and methods for sequestering carbon, evolving hydrogen gas, producing iron oxide as magnetite, and producing magnesium carbonate as magnesite through sequential carbonation and serpentinization/hydration reactions involving processed olivine- and/or pyroxene-rich ores, as typically found in mafic and ultramafic igneous rock. Precious or scarce metals, such nickel, cobalt, chromium, rare earth elements, and others, may be concentrated in the remaining ore to facilitate their recovery from any gangue material.

Methods for recovering a metal from a metal-containing material are provided. In embodiments, such a method comprises exposing a metal-containing material to a leaching solution comprising a solvent and a binoxalate, a tetraoxalate, or a combination thereof, under conditions to provide a leachate comprising a soluble metal oxalate; inducing precipitation of a metal-containing precipitate comprising the metal of the soluble metal oxalate from the leachate; and recovering the metal-containing precipitate.

Described in this disclosure are rare earth element (REE)-binding proteins (e.g., lanthanide-binding proteins), host cells expressing the REE-binding proteins, and methods of recovering REEs.

Described in this disclosure are rare earth element (REE)-binding proteins (e.g., lanthanide-binding proteins), host cells expressing the REE-binding proteins, and methods of recovering REEs.

A method for separating thorium and cerium from a solid concentrate comprising compounds of thorium, cerium and further rare earth metals, comprising: a) contacting the solid concentrate with an acid to achieve an acid composition with a pH of less than 0.5; b) reacting the acid composition obtained in step a) with ozone or heating the acid composition at a temperature ranging from 110° C. to 130° C. for a time period ranging from 1 to 3 hours, thereby oxidizing the cerium ions in the acid composition to an oxidation state of +IV; c) increasing, to at most 2, the pH of the composition obtained in step b), resulting in the precipitation of thorium and cerium compounds; and d) separating the precipitated thorium and cerium compounds from the composition obtained in step c) to obtain an aqueous acidic rare earth solution depleted in thorium and cerium.