Characterization of Yttrium speciation in mining wastes from the phosphate industry

To meet our needs, humanity today consumes 1.8 times the resources that the planet can renew in one year. Face with this observation, phosphate industry in Morocco, the world leader in the production of this essential resource for the production of fertilizers, has engaged a circular economy plan to guarantee food security while using a minimum of resources and minimizing wastes. In particular, mining wastes from phosphate extraction have shown great potential for the extraction of metals including critical metals, such as Magnesium (Mg) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) that are the heart of a number of strategic technologies for the environmental transition. In the context of a circular economy, this project aims at studying the potential of wastes from phosphate extraction for the recovery of critical metals. We propose here to investigate bulk speciation of Yttrium (proxy for Heavy REEs) in mining wastes stored at different stages of ore extraction.