[Rockhounds] America’s Rare Earth Problem Could Be Solved With Literal Trash

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

How great would it be if we could extract resources from our waste
products? Or even better, raise them from the ashes? Scientists in the
United States have suggested doing exactly that to boost the nation’s
supply of rare earth elements.

Researchers, co-led by Bridget Scanlon of The University of Texas at Austin
(UT), have found that up to 11 million tons of rare earth elements could be
extracted from coal ash in the U.S., a waste product of coal burning.
That’s almost eight times the amount of rare earth elements currently in
domestic reserves. Their findings, detailed in a September 17 study in
the* International
Journal of Coal Science & Technology
<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40789-024-00710-z>*, highlight
that this approach could significantly reinforce national supplies without
the need for further mining
<https://gizmodo.com/revived-california-mine-seeks-transform-rare-earth-indu-1850561240>
.

“This really exemplifies the ‘trash to treasure’ mantra,” Scanlon said in a
UT statement
<https://news.utexas.edu/2024/11/19/enormous-cache-of-rare-earth-elements-hidden-inside-coal-ash-waste/>
.

https://gizmodo.com/americas-rare-earth-problem-could-be-solved-with-literal-trash-2000527029