U.S. Pilot Extracts Rare Earths from Coal Mine Wastewater

In West Virginia’s Appalachian region, a pilot plant at the retired Mount Storm coal mine treats acidic, metal-laden mine drainage to extract rare-earth oxides. The water is collected in a basin, passed through three treatment pools, and the resulting concentrate is discharged after pollutants are removed.

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

The United States relies heavily on China for rare-earth elements, especially “heavy” rare earths used in electric-vehicle magnets, wind-turbine generators, drones and fighter-jet systems. Domestic supply is limited to the Mountain Pass mine in California, which primarily yields “light” rare earths. Researchers at West Virginia University (WVU) identified the dissolved heavy rare earths in acid mine drainage about a decade ago and secured public funding to develop the Mount Storm pilot.

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• Current pilot output: roughly four tons of rare-earth oxides per year, with about 45 % classified as heavy rare earths (Lance Lin).

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• WVU engineer David Hoffman estimates that scaling to 300 metric tons annually could satisfy 7-8 % of global demand for elements such as terbium and dysprosium.

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than US$160 million to fund nine projects that recover critical minerals, including rare earths, as part of a broader US$1 billion investment in the critical-minerals supply chain (Audrey Robertson).

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Mark Gavin, WVU’s vice provost, noted that the United States has made progress in midstream and downstream rare-earth processing but still lacks domestic front-end feedstock. Lance Lin emphasized that the operation simultaneously cleans the environment and produces a valuable by-product. David Hoffman and engineer Tommee Larochelle said the project could provide a minimum supply for the defense sector if political will and financing align.

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• “The US has started to make inroads on the midstream and downstream portions, but what we haven't had domestically is the front end feedstock,” — Mark Gavin, the vice provost of West Virginia University (WVU)

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• “With this operation, we achieve two purposes: one, environment cleanup, and second, recover rare earths as a valuable byproduct,” — Lance Lin, director of the WVU Rare Earth Elements Initiative

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• “If the political will and financing align, it is doable in the short term,” — David Hoffman. Tommee Larochelle

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater

• “Even us partnering with this kind of partner...we're not going to solve the entire problem,” — Mark Gavin, the vice provost of West Virginia University (WVU)

In US, rare earths extracted from coal mine wastewater