Tricky to process, and normally found with Thorium for some reason, I think the Thorium waste is what processing it toxic, I think I’m just a humble physics graduate.
I did watch a video about the processing of some of the rare earths, to refine three of them a series of ion exchanges were used, very interesting but I can see why they’d be so expensive.
robthebrew•9mo ago
THe purification is the problem, not the mining
EA-3167•9mo ago
It isn't a technical problem though, it's just a lot easier when you have China's trio of:
Government subsidized energy
Criminally cheap and unsafe labor
No cares for the local environmental effects
It's a cost issue, because in the US or EU none of those three factors are present. Instead we've all 'outsourced' that mess to China.
zeristor•9mo ago
I did watch a video about the processing of some of the rare earths, to refine three of them a series of ion exchanges were used, very interesting but I can see why they’d be so expensive.