Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential to many of today’s most advanced technologies, including electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, consumer electronics, aerospace components, among many others. Although relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust, economically viable REE deposits are difficult to identify and extract due to their complex mineralogy and challenging processing requirements.
As global demand for critical minerals continues to rise, rapid and accurate analytical techniques have become increasingly important for improving exploration, optimizing mineral processing, and maximizing resource recovery. Desktop scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has emerged as a powerful solution by providing fast, accessible, and high-quality mineral characterization directly within mining and processing environments.
In this application note, we discuss the role of desktop SEM in rare earth element exploration and processing, and how integrated imaging and elemental analysis on the Phenom SEM platform specifically support faster informed decision-making throughout the mining workflow.
Applications of Phenom desktop SEMs discussed in this white paper include:
- Quality control during refining
- Mineral identification and ore characterization
- Liberation analysis and process optimization
- Beneficiation and separation support
- Tailings analysis and resource recovery
