The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread

[LP]

LP is correct.  REE mining, and particularly processing, is close to the dirtiest activity on the plant.  Horrendous for the environment.  The tailings from processing alone rival waste from a nuclear facility.

The public protest against mining, boost Solar PV, and oppose nuclear.

But the Rare Earth mining produces as much radioactive waste as coal mining or burning. For radiation it's not the volume of waste that is the problem, but the fact that it gets concentrated by the refining process.

The volume of other waste becomes an issue because rare earths are well, ............ rare, DuH! There are projects now trying to develop uses for much of the waste, but the economics of the effort looks grim.