CURRENT TRENDS AND STATUS OF RARE EARTH METALMINING AND PROCESSING

Rare earth metals are classified as critically important metals because they have found widespread use in the production of magnets, especially those used in environmentally friendly energy technologies that help mitigate global warming. The growing demand for rare earth elements (REES), due to their use in modern technologies, has necessitated the search for alternative sources of these elements, since their extraction from traditional deposits is limited. Rapid depletion of high-grade stocks rare earth elements (REE) means that in the future reserves can be increased due to low-grade ores, tailings dumps and other unconventional resources to meet marginal concentrations and, as a result, supply needs. Currently, three different methods of processing rare earth elements (REE) from two low-grade secondary resources are proposed: mine tailings containing REE, and ferrous scrap from crushed waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). A new approach has been developed to extract iron and rare earth elements (REE) from tailings ponds by combining magnetization firing, magnetic separation, activation firing of (NH4)2SO4 and aqueous leaching. A process for extracting REE from an apatite mineral has been developed, Both rare earth elements and phosphorus are extracted from the tailing ponds by acid leaching followed by cryogenic crystallization and solvent extraction to purify both rare earth elements. As can be seen, the processing of ores containing rare earth elements is a complex process and varies depending on the nature of each ore. Based on the above, it can be said that in order to study the occurrence and quantity of rare earth metals in the mineral deposits being developed in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it is necessary to conduct a detailed study of rocks and waste generated as a result of the activities of these mines. Keywords: rare earth metals, elements, extraction, applications, sources, secondary resources, ecology.