Advancements in rare earth element (REE) extraction using green technologies: Practical strategies to adopt in the Australian context

Australia holds the world’s fourth-largest reserves of rare earth elements (REE) and is an important global producer. Historically, Australia has contributed approximately 5% of global REE extraction; however, its share has increased over time, reaching about 8% of global extraction in 2025. Currently, the REE mining sector is concentrated in Western Australia. However, other Australian states also have significant potential for REE mining. Queensland hosts a range of both clay-hosted and mineral-hosted REE ores, which importantly include both heavy-REE and light-REE enriched deposits. An advantage is that most of these ores are found near the surface, which significantly reduces extraction costs. However, the conventional REE extraction and purification technologies rely on toxic, corrosive and environmentally harmful reagents, which conflict with Queensland’s strategic industrial priorities for sustainable and low-impact processing. This study explores different pathways (e.g. bioleaching, electrokinetic, organic acids and novel green solvents, including ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents) in which efficiency and environmental care can coexist within economically feasible processes, depending on the mineralogy and physicochemical properties of the ores. Unlike previous reviews, this work provides a Queensland-focused comparison of green extraction routes, linking ore mineralogy with process selection to support practical decision-making for regional REE mining. All the routes were evaluated regarding the chemical mechanisms, thermodynamic properties, operational conditions, costs, efficiency, optimisation, scalability, sustainability and environmental impact. The analysis indicates that bioleaching and deep eutectic solvent systems offer the most promising near-term pathways for clay-hosted and tailings-derived REE, while hybrid approaches will be required for crystalline ores.