[Text/Watchman Network Chen Sijia] Recently, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that the Electrochemical Separation Technology Research Group of the Qinghai Salt Lake Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made new progress in the economic utilization of ultra-low grade rubidium resources in the Chaerhan Salt Lake, successfully preparing a rubidium chloride product with a purity of 99.9% from Chaerhan potassium chloride raw materials with a rubidium content lower than 0.001%.

"The new process may reduce import dependence." The South China Morning Post reported on June 13 that rubidium has wide applications in military and technology fields, but China has long faced challenges such as low ore grade and high mining difficulty in rubidium resource development. The new progress made by scientists in rubidium extraction research may help China reduce its reliance on imported rubidium ore.

Illustrative image: lithium mica ore containing rubidium

The Qinghai Salt Lake Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said on the 11th that in response to the current shortage of strategic key metal rubidium resources in China, the research team conducted theoretical and technological innovation attacks on extracting rubidium from salt lakes to prepare high-purity rubidium chloride.

The research team constructed a multi-phase equilibrium thermodynamic model of rubidium-containing composite salt solid solutions, elucidating the migration and enrichment laws of rubidium elements during potassium chloride production processes, revealing that the formation of composite salt solid solutions is the key factor restricting rubidium enrichment in tail brine. Through model calculations and experimental verifications, they determined the optimal process nodes for rubidium enrichment as the mother liquor after carnallite decomposition and crude potassium chloride, providing theoretical guidance for efficient rubidium separation and extraction.

The established model by the research team enables precise prediction of the distribution behavior of trace rubidium in complex brine systems and salt minerals, forming a new method for studying the existence state of trace elements in salt lakes.

The Qinghai Salt Lake Institute stated that the research team developed an integrated process route of "mineral washing-rubidium leaching-evaporation enrichment-solvent extraction-crystallization purification," successfully producing a rubidium chloride product with extremely low rubidium content (

The South China Morning Post reported that this process may also be cost-effective. A study by the institute's team in 2022 showed that the cost of extracting rubidium chloride through similar processes is only one-third of its market price.

Rubidium is a strategically significant metal widely used in electronics, aerospace, and other fields, with great value in both military and civilian applications. For example, rubidium ions can enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells, rubidium chloride can be used in tumor treatment, and rubidium atomic clocks have an error rate of only 1 second in over 3 million years.

However, China has long faced challenges such as low ore grades, high mining difficulties, and reliance on imports in rubidium resource development. An article published in the February issue of the China Mining Magazine pointed out that although China is one of the countries with the largest reserves of rubidium mines globally, 97% of the rubidium is located in low-grade hard rock deposits, making mining difficult. The remaining 3% is located in salt lakes and geothermal water in Tibet and Qinghai.

"Although China is one of the major rubidium producers globally, related industries are heavily reliant on imported ores. In 2021, China imported 19,500 tons of rubidium concentrate, with an external procurement rate of 66.3%. These ores mainly come from Canada and Zimbabwe," the article warned that the United States had already included rubidium in the critical mineral list in 2022. As minerals become a focal point of competition, "China must prioritize supply chain security through resource diplomacy."

The South China Morning Post commented that the new progress made by the Qinghai Salt Lake Research Institute in rubidium extraction may reduce our country's reliance on imports in the future and enhance strategic autonomy in the critical mineral supply chain.

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Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7515431176342716978/

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