Described herein are technologies for bauxite or kaolin mining operations. A detector is used to detect the presence of a pathfinder element or radioactivity indicating a presence of a rare-earth element. Once the pathfinder element or radioactivity is detected, the mined material is segregated from material mined in which a pathfinder element or radioactivity was not detected. Rare-earth elements are extracted from the segregated material. Once the rare-earth elements are extracted, the material is returned to normal mining operation processing steps.

A rare earth metal extracting bacterial consortium can include an acid secreting bacterium, a heavy metal resistant bacterium, an iron-sequestering molecule secreting bacterium, and a rare earth metal sequestering bacterium. In another example, a composition can include a growth medium and a bacterial consortium growing in the growth medium. The growth medium can include water, magnesium sulfate, manganese chloride, cobalt chloride, calcium chloride, ammonium sulfate, soluble starch, and amino acids. The bacterial consortium can include an acid secreting bacterium, a heavy metal resistant bacterium, an iron-sequestering molecule secreting bacterium, and a rare earth metal sequestering bacterium.

A rare earth metal extracting bacterial consortium can include an acid secreting bacterium, a heavy metal resistant bacterium, an iron-sequestering molecule secreting bacterium, and a rare earth metal sequestering bacterium. In another example, a composition can include a growth medium and a bacterial consortium growing in the growth medium. The growth medium can include water, magnesium sulfate, manganese chloride, cobalt chloride, calcium chloride, ammonium sulfate, soluble starch, and amino acids. The bacterial consortium can include an acid secreting bacterium, a heavy metal resistant bacterium, an iron-sequestering molecule secreting bacterium, and a rare earth metal sequestering bacterium.