Under the theme of Effective Extraction and Recycling of Rare Earth Resources in China, the 377th Session of the Xiangshan Science Conferences was held from June 8 to 10 in Beijing.
Rare earth elements are strategic materials indispensable for the development of a variety of high and new technologies, their military applications, and the transformation of traditional industries. As a treasure-house for new materials in the 21st century, they are regarded as a strategic resource in developed countries, and its research and application industries are given high priority.
Thanks to its development over the past 50 years or so, China, being rich in rare earth resources with a wide distribution, has established a relative complete industrial chain and system in this regard, ranking first in its production, export and consumption in the world. However, along with the rapid advancement of its rare earth industry, problems in rare earth extraction, such as a low utilization rate and heavy pollution, have become more evident. Although rare-earth elements are used in various fields, their imbalanced utilization is a problem that has hindered the development of the industry. Furthermore, the difficulty in rare earth purification has kept it from satisfying the demands of rapid high-tech development in today¡¯s world. To further develop its rare-earth science, technology and industry, China should urgently address such issues as effective and green approaches to extracting rare earth resources, raising their utilization rate and application value, and achieving a balanced utilization of rare earths.
In the current economic situation, priority should be placed on isolation and extraction science and technology for rare earth mining, processing and smelting. It is also important to optimize processing technology, upgrade resource recycling level, and further reduce chemical materials consumption and production costs. Efforts must be made to raise the integrated utilization rate of rare earth metals and their associated and secondary resources, reduce their pollution from the original source. In order to widen its utilization field and alleviate the problem of its imbalanced application, attention should be paid to technological innovation and related basic research.
This session of the Xiangshan Science Conferences invited scholars and scientists from such fields as rare earth mining, processing, purification and application to have in-depth discussions on the following three topics: (1) Effective mining and processing of rare earth minerals and their integrated utilization; (2) Developments of green metallurgy and purification of rare earth minerals; and (3) Effective and balanced application of rare earth elements.
The meeting addressed major problems with overall and future significance for China¡¯s rare earth development, and scientific and technological problems concerning the rare earth mining, processing and smelting. By brainstorming a key framework, policies and suggestions to solve the above-mentioned problems, the meeting reached a consensus on a road-map for the development of China's rare earth industry so as to find a way for effective development and recycling of rare earth resources while maintaining a good environment for the people.
Executive Co-chairs:
HUANG Xiaowei, Professor, General Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals
YAN Chunhua, Professor, Peking University
LI Hongwei, Research Professor, National Engineering Research Center for Rare Earth Materials
CHI Ru'an, Professor, Wuhan Institute of Technology
LI Jiaxi, Research Professor, National Research Center of Geoanalysis
Key-note Review Reports
Effective Extraction and Recycling of Rare Earth Resources in China (HUANG Xiaowei)
Environmental Problems in the Development of Rare Earth Resources (LI Jiaxi)
Review Reports on Central Topics
Effective Mining and Processing of Rare Earth Minerals and the Integrated Utilization of Resources (CHI Ru¡¯an)
Developments of Green Metallurgy and Purification of Rare Earth Elements (LI Weihong)
Effective and Imbalanced Utilization of Rare Earth Elements (YAN Chunhua)
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