As part of the valorization of the Moroccan phosphate rock by extraction of rare earths, different experiments on natural Moroccan phosphate from the Gantour Basin (basin of phosphate in the Youssoufia area) were done in the REMATOP laboratory. e response surface methodology was used to study the effects of the influence of different parameters (acid concentration, solid/ liquid ratio, duration of the reaction, stirring speed, and temperature) on the progress of the phosphate rock's dissolution process to determine the optimal parameters for the extraction of rare earths. e analyses were made at the same time on the mineral matrix and the solutions resulting from the attack of this matrix by different concentrations of hydrochloric acid. e rare earth analyses done by the ICP-MS technique have shown an overall amount of rare earths (ΣREs) of 228.408 ppm with the existence of yttrium as the major element.

Phosphate is a very important natural resource in Morocco and one of the secondary resources of rare earth elements. Our study is particularly interested in Youssoufia phosphate, which contains 228.77 ppm of rare earth elements (ΣREEs). The purpose of our work is to study the influence of different parameters (acid concentration, solid/liquid ratio and temperature) in order to determine the optimal conditions for the leaching of rare earths. An experimental design (Doehlert matrix) has been drawn up to optimize the experimental conditions of the leaching. All tests were made with nitric acid at different concentrations varying between 1.5M and 4.5M with a solid/liquid ratio of 1/12 to 1/6; reaction temperature and duration are respectively 20°C to 80 °C and 60 min. The optimal conditions are obtained when using 69 °C as temperature, 4.1 M as acid concentration and 1/9 as solid/liquid ratio.