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Assessing the economic viability of unconventional rare earth element feedstocks

Nature Sustainability volume 6, pages 1103–1112 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sourcing rare earth elements (REEs) from unconventional feedstocks has substantial environmental and societal–economic benefits, but its economic viability remains unclear. Here we propose a framework for assessing the economic viability of unconventional REE feedstocks. We first develop a database of capital and operating expenses for REE recovery and establish consistent process unit costs for common stages in the conventional supply chain. We then use market prices to develop well-defined methods for determining diverse product values. Finally, we report the effects of economies of scale and feedstock purity on capital and operating costs. These tools can reduce uncertainty in the assessment of the economic viability of producing REEs from unconventional feedstocks, determine the value of innovative pathways for REE production from diverse sources and inform research priorities across a wide range of REE product development stages, contributing to a sustainable REE supply.

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Fig. 1: Critical needs for processing unconventional REE ores.
Fig. 2: Costs of conventional ore processing and extraction and standardized refining processes.
Fig. 3: Trends in element normalized product price by ranked product application value.
Fig. 4: Cost as a function of capacity and feedstock purity.

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Data availability

The data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published Analysis (and its Supplementary Information). Information included in this published Analysis includes the Excel operating and capital expense database for REE extraction (Supplementary Data). Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We thank W. M. Summers for his effort in reviewing this work. This research was supported by an appointment by the US Department of Energy Post-Graduate Fellowship Program at the National Energy Technology Laboratory administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Department of Energy.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Energy Technology Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Albany, OR, USA

    Alison G. Fritz

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Alison G. Fritz & Meagan S. Mauter

  3. National Energy Technology Laboratory, US Department of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Thomas J. Tarka

  4. Department of Global Environmental Policy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Meagan S. Mauter

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  1. Alison G. Fritz
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Contributions

A.G.F. collected the data, developed the methodology, conducted the formal analysis and wrote the original draft of the paper. A.G.F. and M.S.M. visualized the data. T.J.T. and M.S.M. conceptualized the project, reviewed and edited the paper, and supervised the research.

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Correspondence to Meagan S. Mauter.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Sustainability thanks Zongguo Wen and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Note 1, Figs. 1 and 2, Tables 1–7 and Equations 1–11.

Reporting Summary

Supplementary Data 1

An Excel database of compiled process costs.

Supplementary Data 2

An Excel sheet with element normalized prices.

Source data

Source Data Figs. 2–4

Input data used to calculate mean costs (Fig. 2), develop the regressions (Fig. 3), and plot project costs and development of regressions (Fig. 4a,b).

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Fritz, A.G., Tarka, T.J. & Mauter, M.S. Assessing the economic viability of unconventional rare earth element feedstocks. Nat Sustain 6, 1103–1112 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01145-1

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