By Andrew Oliver, Creative Writing Intern
With fossil fuels creating more problems for the planet than ever before, green technology is seen as a fool-proof way to transition to environmentally friendly lives. Solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles are often seen as having no negative impacts on the environment. However, the mining areas where REEs for green technology are extracted show that it’s not a black-and-white issue.
What Are REEs?
According to the US Department of Energy, Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are 17 periodic elements that can be used in technology components such as magnets, batteries, and catalysts. They are not necessarily rare elements, but their availability varies widely by geographic location. They are extremely valuable because a variety of industries use them such as health care, transportation, power generation, petroleum refining, and consumer electronics. They are also used in green technology such as e-vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels.
Separating REEs can be difficult because they tend to stick to each other because of how similar they are chemically. As such, extensive chemical treatments are needed to separate them.
The market for REEs is expected to expand as the clean energy transition takes hold on the world. This is especially true for e-vehicles as they are expected to be the green technology with the largest demand for REEs. According to a report by the UN, the annual global raw material extraction of REEs and other materials rose from 31% in 1970 to 50% in 2025. The report stressed the importance of a mining industry that values sustainability, human rights, and the environment.
Environmental and Community Risks of REE Mining
REE mining is hardly the ideal, sustainable industry that the UN describes. One effect of REE mining on the environment is water pollution. According to researcher Yong-He Han and others, producing 1ton of IAREOs, a type of rare earth ore, generates approximately 1000 tons of wastewater filled with toxic materials. This waste can enter bodies of water to cause oxidative stress, ion dysregulation, enzyme inhibition, and reproductive toxicity; all of which can threaten the health of aquatic species and ecosystems.
He Han and his colleagues also found that REE mining causes severe degradation of the soil. Generating one ton of rare earth ore alone can cause the removal of 300 square meters of top soil and ground cover. Additionally, mining can reduce nutrients in the soil, particularly through the loss of carbon. Therefore, REE mining is connected to reduced vegetation in a region.
REE mining not only affects the health of the environment but also the heath of residents as well. For example, in 2010, an REE mine near the city of Baotou, China, dumped hazardous waste onto farmlands and local water supplies. This, combined with toxic fumes and dust in the air, caused residents to experience nausea, dizziness, migraines, arthritis, skin lesions, discolored teeth, signs of brittle bones, and indications of skeletal fluorosis.
Climate solutions need to consider how the materials are obtained because the whole point of those solutions is to improve the environment’s health. If degrading the environment is required for the solutions, then that defeats the purpose.
This dilemma is especially relevant for lands where the indigenous people rely on the land for their lives and culture. For example, the Hualapai tribe in Arizona experienced receding water levels in the Ha'Kamwe', the turquoise blue hot springs considered to be healing and sacred, right after an Australian mining company drilled exploration holes. The company was searching for lithium without the tribe’s consent.
Incidents likes this are likely to become more prevalent as research has found that 54% of all energy transition material operations are near or on indigenous land.
Building a More Responsible Mineral System
Despite its many problems, REE mining has the promise to revolutionize lives with the technology it’s used to create. This is especially true for the solar panels, wind turbines, and other green technologies that are required to transition away from fossil fuels.
One way to improve REE mining is to invest in research that finds ways to improve REE mining and refining. For example, Buz Barstow, an assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell University, has been leading research into “biomining”, reprograming microbes into secreting an acid to extract REEs from materials. This could be a safer alternative to conventional methods that use acids and bases which can harm the environment.
Another way to improve the REE industry is to improve ways to recycle technology. A paper by Salmata Diallo and colleagues from the University of Quebec found that only 17.4% of e-waste is processed for recycling. It also found that the most practical methods for recycling require chemicals, generate toxic waste, are costly, and require a lot of energy. The study experimented with selective leaching and purification to create a recycling method that is profitable and able to have an REE recovery yield of 78%. Research like this can improve the recycling process for e-waste so that more REEs can be extracted and reused. Ironically, the US Department of Energy reports an increased interest in REE recycling because of the boom in REE products.
What’s even more ironic is that REEs may have pollution mitigation effects, making them part of the problem and solution. He Han and his colleagues found that certain REEs have remarkable photocatalytic activity under UV/visible light, making them potent agents for environmental rehabilitation. These elements have been widely employed to degrade a broad spectrum of pollutants, such as organic contaminants (i.e., dyes, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides), recalcitrant compounds, and toxic heavy metals.
Alternatively, certain plants can be used to clean soil of REE pollutants. For example, the D. pedate fern has the ability to remove REEs from the soil and improve its physicochemical properties. This makes it one of the most ideal plants for soil rehabilitation from REE mine damage.
Indigenous tribes can also be involved in the mining process. This means allowing them to have full information about mining projects so that they can give consent that can be withdrawn at any time.
Finally, governments can use legislative measures to encourage ethical standards from mining companies. As the UN report outlines, governments can use financial incentives to support investment in responsible mining and infrastructure while also promoting recycling. They can also use a levy on companies to create a fund that supports training, capacity-building, legal assistance for developing countries, research, and innovation projects.
Conclusion
To summarize the issue, e-products can help usher a new age for technology and green energy, but only if the problems are addressed. Not only can REE mining be applied in a way to reduce it’s impact on the environment, but the REEs themselves can serve as the means to do so through increased interest in recycling and soil treatment. With green energy being a key to a greener future, people should demand that technology be implemented while also being created in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment.
Sources
- www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389425033205?via%3Dihub
- west.stanford.edu/news/demand-minerals-sparks-fear-mining-abuses-indigenous-peoples-lands
- cals.cornell.edu/news/2021/03/how-can-mining-rare-earth-elements-become-more-sustainable
- www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089268752400253X?via%3Dihub
- www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-un-report-calls-responsible-financing-and-investment-energy
- www.energy.gov/hgeo/rare-earth-elements
- www.sciencenews.org/article/rare-earth-mining-renewable-energy-future