A UK tech firm has developed modular micro-refineries to extract and process rare earth elements from industrial waste at source, reducing reliance on China.
Silex World, a spin-out from the University of Leeds, has launched a modular micro-refinery that can recover and recycle rare earth elements and other metals locally from waste streams, instead of sending the waste away to large centralised refineries.
Rare earth elements feature in a vast array of high-tech and everyday products, from electronics and medical equipment to clean energy and defence systems. While these elements are primarily extracted through mining, there is also a growing market to extract these elements from end-of-life products or electronics waste and refine them so they can be reused.
Currently, China is a dominant player in this market, accounting for around 70% of global mining production and over 90% of global refining and processing capacity. As demand in rare earths is expected to grow while electrification...