(437e) Pilot-Scale Testing and Trends of Extraction of Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals from North Dakota Lignite

The University of North Dakota has completed early piloting of their 0.5 ton/hour lignite processing pilot facility for rare earth element (REE) and critical mineral (CM) production using a novel patented non-dissolving core process. This pilot facility was constructed as a means of rapidly increasing UND’s patented REE/CM extraction technology from lignite – extracting highly-valuable, politically-charged commodities from one of the world’s largest coal reserves in the Williston Basin. This campaign will be summarized in this discussion, including challenges faced by the team in procurement, construction, and commissioning of a pilot facility; early operations, and trends found in the processing facility over time. Overall concentration factors of over 2,000 were achieved throughout the facility, not including final refining and processing.