Complimentary beneficiation characteristics1. The kaolin clay...

Complimentary beneficiation characteristics
1. The kaolin clay with adsorbed REEs is the valuable component. Fortunately, with this style of
mineralisation the clays can be easily upgraded (or beneficiated) by simply washing out the
quartz grains with water and retaining the concentrated kaolin and REEs in suspension. As
the REE’s are bound to the clays they will be upgraded as well.

2. To extract the REE’s an acidic solution containing an inorganic salt such as ammonium
sulphate or sodium chloride is used to leach the REE’s from the clay. This solution also has
the potential to remove impurities in the kaolin such as iron, leaving a much purer, whiter, and
more valuable kaolin product after REE extraction.