Freeport Indonesia to process 400,000t of copper concentrate at new smelter
Earlier this month, Freeport obtained an export permit for the rest of the year from the government.
These old electronics may contain rare earths.
U.S. Rare Earths Inc. (OTCBB: UREE) is ready to begin recovering the coveted elements from old electronics thanks to a new recycling technology developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute (CMI).
The novel method assists in the recycling, recovery and extraction process of rare earth minerals, used as ingredients in magnets, batteries, catalytic converters and high-tech products. It is also said to be the first commercially licensed technology developed through the CMI.
According to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the recycling of critical materials from electronic waste has been limited by processing technologies that were inefficient, costly and environmentally hazardous. But its membrane solvent extraction system is supposed to eliminate many of those difficulties.
U.S. Rare Earths says it will be applying the new extraction method at the Last Chance northern facility, from where it expects to retrieve up to 2,500 short tons of metallurgical sample material, believed to have high occurrences of rare earth mineralization.
The company also said it intends to separate REEs from its approximately 25,000 acres of mining claims in Idaho, Montana and Colorado.
