46 Research to Accelerate Recovery of Critical Minerals from Primary and Secondary Resources

Innovative technology is needed to mine critical minerals to meet unprecedented demand. This session invites to present research in characterization, extraction, separation, in-situ recovery, and related areas that accelerate the recovery of critical minerals from traditional, secondary and unconventional resources.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 216AB

Experimental Determination of the Solubility of Dolomite and Ankerite in Citric Acid Solutions: Implications for Critical Mineral Extractions

Paper number: 46-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 2:55 PM – 3:10 PM

Authors

Abstract

Dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) and ankerite (Ca(Fe,Mg,Mn)(CO3)2) contain high concentrations of Mg(II) and Mn(II), which are critical minerals.  As the resources of dolomite and ankerite are enormous, they are potential targets for extraction of Mg(II) and Mn(II).      

In this work, we present the solubility measurements of dolomite and ankerite in citric acid solutions at a room temperature.  We choose citric acid solutions because citric acid solutions are a potential leaching agent for Mg(II) and Mn(II) recovery.  The supporting solutions include 0.10 mol•kg–1, 0.25 mol•kg–1, 0.25 mol•kg–1, 0.50 mol•kg–1, 0.75 mol•kg–1, and 1.0 mol•kg‑1 citric acid, in the presence of 0.10 mol•kg–1 ascorbic acid to keep iron in the reducing state.  All experimnets approached the equilibrium/steady state from the direction of undersaturation.  Our results indicate that the optimal citric acid concentration for extraction is 0.25 mol•kg–1. 

       

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.  This research is funded by the US DOE FECM via FWP-23-025668 of the U.S. Department of Energy.  SAND2025-09758A.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-414432

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