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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The rare earth elements (REE), comprising 15 elements of the lanthanum series (La-Lu)
together with yttrium (Y) and scandium (Sc), have become of particular interest because of their
use, for example, in modern communications, renewable energy generation, and the electrification
of transport. However, the security of supply of REE is considered to be at risk due to the limited
number of sources, with dependence largely on one supplier that produced approximately 63% of all
REE in 2019. As a result, there is a growing need to diversify supply. This has resulted in the drive to
seek new resources elsewhere, and particularly on the deep-ocean floor. Here, we give a summary
of REE distribution in minerals, versatile applications, and an update of their economic value. We
present the most typical onshore methods for the determination of REE and examine methods for
their offshore exploration in near real time. The motivation for this comes from recent studies over
the past decade that showed ΣREE concentrations as high as 22,000 ppm in ocean-floor sediments in
the Pacific Ocean. The ocean-floor sediments are evaluated in terms of their potential as resources
of REE, while the likely economic cost and environmental impacts of deep-sea mining these are
also considered.
Description
Keywords
Ocean-floor mining Ocean-floor sediments Rare earth elements
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Publisher
MDPI