An assessment of U.S. rare earth availability for supporting U.S. wind energy growth targets

Imholte, D. Devin; Nguyen, Ruby H.N.; Vedantam, Aditya; Brown, Maxwell; Iyer, Ananth V.; Smith, Braeton J.; Collins, John W.; Anderson, Corby; O’Kelley, B.

doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2017.11.001

Cited by 56 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Their study just focused on three clean energy technologies (PV, wind and fuel cells), and not all available technologies. Kalvig and Machaceg (2018 ) assessed whether the global REE supply can keep pace with the REE demand for the expanding offshore wind energy sector through demand scenarios based on the estimates of GWEC up to 2030 while Imholte et al. (2018 ) did the same work by assessing the U.S. REE availability for supporting the U.S. wind energy growth targets based on annual U.S. wind installation targets up to 2030 established by the US Department of Energy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper at the crossroads: Assessment of the interactions between low-carbon energy transition and supply limitations

Seck

Hache

Bonnet

et al. 2020

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

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This article aims to assess the impact of copper availability on the energy transition and to determine whether copper could become critical due to the high copper content of low-carbon technologies compared to conventional technologies. In assessing copper availability through to 2050, we rely on our linear programming world energy-transport model, TIAM-IFPEN. We examine two climate scenarios (2 °C and 4 °C) with two mobility shape, implemented with a recycling chain. The penetration of low-carbon technologies in the transport and energy sectors (electric vehicles and low-carbon power generation technologies) is likely to significantly increase copper demand by 2050. To investigate how tension over copper resources can be reduced in the energy transition context, we consider two public policy drivers: sustainable mobility and recycling practices. Results show that in the most stringent scenario, the cumulative primary copper demand between 2010 and 2050 is found to be 89.4% of the copper resources known in 2010. They also pinpoint the importance of China and Chile in the future evolution of the copper market.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Copper at the crossroads: Assessment of the interactions between low-carbon energy transition and supply limitations

Seck

Hache

Bonnet

et al. 2020

Resources, Conservation and Recycling

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“…If a "green transformation" of the planet will indeed occur, the same may well be true of oil and natural gas. At the moment, the debate on rare earths, required in large quantities for the production, storage, and consumption of electricity, displays similar traits though concerns about access to reserves appear to be balanced by trust in the capabilities of technological progress to prevent resource scarcity (e.g., Imholte et al 2018;Kumari et al 2018). At the same time, awareness of the link between powerful greenhouse gases like sulfur hexafluoride and "green" electric power is only just emerging (McGrath 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracies, change, sustainability, and transformation: historical perspectives

Fahrmeir

2020

Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy

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This article discusses the potential of a historical approach to sustainability transformations. Using environmental issues and governance structures as case studies, it first describes how historical "sustainability transformations" can be conceptualized. It then suggests that 19thcentury constitutional reforms can be read as attempts at reaching fiscal sustainability, whereas some social reforms can be interpreted as attempts to render the capitalist economy sustainable. In conclusion, the article highlights that the primary value of historical approaches to sustainability transformations will not lie in models, but in encouraging more creative questions.

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“…As of 2018, there are no more active mines in the western world operated exclusively for the recovery of Rare Earths. REE projects outside China, which re-opened or opened after the 2011 spike in REE prices, such as the Mountain Pass mine and the Bear Lodge deposit (United States), or the Mount Weld mine (Australia), have all sustained or suspended their production or development due to relatively low REE prices (Imholte et al, 2018). This situation has stimulated other countries to look for alternative REE resources and to develop their own REE industry, in particular by looking into recycling of REE from End-of-Life products.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rare-metal granites as a potential source of critical metals: A geometallurgical case study

Dehaine

Filippov

Glass

et al. 2019

Ore Geology Reviews

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Because of their low grades in critical metals such as Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) or Sn, rare-metal granites are not considered as economic for metal recovery but, when altered, they are often exploited for their industrial minerals. The St Austell rare-metal granite is well known for its world-class kaolin deposits which formed as a result of the extensive weathering and alteration of the underlying granite. The St Austell granite body is composed of several granite components, each having its own accessory minerals assemblage. As a result of the kaolinisation process, some metal-bearing accessory minerals of the granite, such as monazite (LREE) or cassiterite (Sn), are partially liberated from the gangue which allow their pre-concentration in the micaceous residue which is considered as a potential source for critical metals recovery. A geometallurgical approach is fundamental for this unconventional 'resource', not only because of its nature but also because the target metals must be considered as by-products. Similarities with other similar rare-metal granites suggest that topaz granite is the most prospective for disseminated magmatic Sn-Nb-Ta-REE mineralization. However, comparison of the potentiality of 3 granite types i.e. biotite, topaz and tourmaline granites suggest that biotite granites is actually the most prospective due to higher degree of kaolinisation of the biotite granite which favour pre-concentration of its accessory mineral in the micaceous residue. In order to develop a geometallurgical framework for extraction of kaolin and metals from the selected granite component, a field sampling campaign is performed. Core samples are processed in the laboratory using a characterisation program that mimics the full-scale kaolin refining route. Two main products are recovered through this program, viz. GT53MR180 (-180+53 µm) and R5P5 (-5 µm), which correspond to a fine micaceous residue and a fine kaolin product respectively. These products are both analysed routinely for major and minor trace elements by XRF and yields are recorded to indicate process performance. A selected number of GT53MR180 samples are also being characterised in terms of particle size by laser light scattering, geochemistry by ICP-MS, and mineralogy by QEMSCAN ® . Comparison of characterisation results of GT53MR180 samples and corresponding industrial residue samples shows a good correlation, suggesting that sample analyses are representative for the in-situ deposit and the processing behaviour. Monazite is found to be either fully liberated or fully locked from one sample to the other. Next, pilot-scale gravity concentration tests are performed on micaceous residue samples. Characterisation of the processing products shows that monazite lost in the tailings is mostly locked within tourmaline or micas and is fine grained. Then, predictive regression models for spiral separation performance in terms of recovery, product grade and enrichment as a function of the feed grade are developed for GT53MR180 LREE grade data. Finally,...

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An assessment of U.S. rare earth availability for supporting U.S. wind energy growth targets

Cited by 56 publications

References 26 publications

Copper at the crossroads: Assessment of the interactions between low-carbon energy transition and supply limitations

Copper at the crossroads: Assessment of the interactions between low-carbon energy transition and supply limitations

Democracies, change, sustainability, and transformation: historical perspectives

Rare-metal granites as a potential source of critical metals: A geometallurgical case study

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