Rare metals war: China extracts critical mineral rubidium from brine for first time
New process could potentially slash China’s dependence on imports of strategic metal used in tech, military and aerospace industries
Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the commercial extraction of the critical metal rubidium directly from salt lake brine, potentially slashing dependence on imports – mostly from Canada – that now supply two-thirds of China’s needs.
This industrial-scale method produces ultra-pure rubidium chloride from ultra-low concentrations, offering a new domestic source for this strategically vital material.
The Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes (ISL) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on Wednesday that researchers had produced 99.9 per cent pure rubidium chloride from potassium chloride material containing just 0.001 per cent rubidium.