Equipment
The importance of rare earth elements (REEs) production in meeting advancing technology, renewable energy, and defense applications continues to grow. Backed by a dedicated testing facility and over 75 years of experience, FEECO offers a range of solutions for processing rare earth minerals and concentrates:
- Lanthanum (La)
- Cerium (Ce)
- Praseodymium (Pr)
- Neodymium (Nd)
- Samarium (Sm)
- Europium (Eu)
- Gadolinium (Gd)
- Terbium (Tb)
- Dysprosium (Dy)
- Holmium (Ho)
- Erbium (Er)
- Thulium (Tm)
- Ytterbium (Yb)
- Lutetium (Lu)
- Scandium (Sc)
- Yttrium (Y)
Mixing & Agglomeration
From acid bake preparation to fines management and material conditioning, our mixing and agglomeration systems are engineered to meet the varied demands of rare earth production operations. We offer:
- Conditioning drums for preparing rare earth ores or concentrates for downstream thermal or hydrometallurgical processing
- Acid mixers (pugmill/paddle mixers) for mixing concentrates with sulfuric acid
- Pin mixers, agglomeration drums, and disc pelletizers for de-dusting and agglomerating ores or recovered fines to improve handling and thermal processing
Rotary Dryers & Coolers
Rotary dryers provide efficient, high-capacity moisture reduction for rare earth concentrates following beneficiation, filtration, or leaching. Drying is often employed to reduce moisture prior to acid baking or calcination, improving material handling, thermal efficiency, and consistency of downstream reactions.
Rotary coolers may also be used to effectively reduce product temperature after roasting or calcination, preparing material for storage, handling, or further hydrometallurgical treatment.
For applications requiring tighter temperature control, reduced entrainment, or uniform fluidization of fine materials, fluid bed dryers offer an alternative approach to moisture removal with precise control over heat transfer and residence time.
Rotary Kilns
Rotary kilns play a critical role in rare earth mineral production by providing the controlled thermal environment required for acid baking, calcination, and other high-temperature reactions used to extract rare earth elements from their host minerals. Precise control over temperature profile, retention time, and atmosphere is essential to achieving consistent sulfate formation, phase transformation, and downstream leach performance.
Designed around specific process requirements, FEECO rotary kilns provide the durability and thermal consistency required for demanding roasting and calcination applications.
Bulk Material Handling
Whether recovering waste from tailings storage, transporting ore around the mine site, or conveying material throughout the processing facility, custom bucket elevators, belt conveyors, steep incline, and shuttle conveyors offer reliable material handling in challenging settings.
Belt trippers and plows can be incorporated for applications requiring multiple discharge points. Belt feeders are also available for controlled material metering onto conveyors.
PLANT AND PILOT SCALE PROCESS TESTING AND DESIGN
The FEECO Innovation Center is a unique testing facility where we can test your material at both batch and pilot scale in order to work out process variables and design commercial-scale units, as well as scale up the process.
The FEECO Innovation Center is well-equipped to suit a wide range of testing needs, including mixing, pelletizing, drying, and high-temperature thermal treatment. We can test on a single piece of equipment, or as a continuous process loop.
Feasibility/Proof of Concept: An initial, non-witnessed batch testing phase in which the possibility of creating a product is explored.
Proof of Product: A more in-depth batch testing phase in which more time is spent determining whether a product can be made to desired specifications.
Proof of Process: A continuous testing phase that aims to establish the equipment setup and parameters required for continuous production of your specific material.
Process/Product Optimization: An in-depth study to optimize your specific material’s characteristics and/or production parameters in an industrial setting.
Learn more about the Innovation Center >>
PARTS & SERVICE
FEECO provides an extensive offering of parts and service to keep your equipment running its best for years to come. This includes a variety of field services, process and equipment audits, spare parts, and more.