The Study of Rare Earth Production Based on Processing of Phosphorus-Containing Concentrates

Due to their unique properties, rare-earth elements (REEs) are used in many areas of advanced high-tech industries. One of the most important sources of REEs is phosphorus-containing ores and concentrates, in particular monazite and apatite concentrates. Although a number of monazite processing methods are commercially used, they have some limitations. That is why the extensive research efforts are underway to develop new methods for recovery of REEs from monazite. This paper presents the research results for nitric-acid pressure decomposition of phosphorus-containing concentrate from the unique man-made deposit and demonstrates that this method is feasible in principle.