How This Tech Can Break China’s Rare Earth Monopoly

American Thought Leaders-The Epoch Times ^ | 23/11/25 | | Dr. James Tour

[Eleutheria5]

For those asking in the comments, Dr. James Tour's company that he references is Metallium Ltd. Ticker symbol in the US is MTMCF. (This is NOT a sponsored episode. We have no financial relationship with Dr. Tour's company. We just think his tech sounds really cool.)

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In a few years, America may not need to buy critical minerals from China anymore, says synthetic chemist and nanotechnologist James Tour.

Why? Because of a method called flash Joule heating that he and his team have been studying at Rice University.

China currently has a near monopoly on global processing capacity of critical minerals, including rare earths. These are essential to much of our modern economy, from electronics to defense to medical devices. America has access to plenty of rare earth reserves, but very little capacity to process and refine them. Rebuilding these incredibly complex supply chains independent of China is a major uphill battle.

But Tour and his team have pioneered a process that allows quick extraction of rare earths from something we have abundantly available: electronic and industrial waste.

“We realized that we could take certain materials, say industrial waste like fly ash … flash it, and get rare earth elements to come out,” Tour says.

The same method can be used to extract rare earths from mine tailings—the leftover, toxic material of old mines that used to be too expensive to process.

“So there's huge availability of this. And if you recycle it—metals are infinitely recyclable,” Tour says.

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[Eleutheria5]

I remember during my visits to Shemokin, PA, where my father partially grew up when his father moved his garment factory there, from my aunt's third-floor bedroom, seeing a giant pile of slag, rivaling the Apalachian hills behind it, which was leftovers from the coal mine that once was the main industry in Shemokin. If just half of that smouldering slag heap could be used in Doctor Tour's process to make essential metals, it would give America a leg up over China, and also clean up the environment in Appalachia. Plenty of abandoned coal mines from Pennsylvania all the way down to Northern Georgia and West Virginia. They all have similar slag heaps, with plenty of rare earths hidden in the mess. This could be big.

[Pontiac]

There are coal ash piles all over the country from 100+ years of burning coal for electric power.

I used to drive by a mile or more of coal ash every day on the way to work. How deep it went from the highway I have no idea.

[Spktyr]

This is a good idea if it works and is real-world-economically feasable. But for now it kinda sounds like the ‘biomass electrical generation’ idea, which mostly *hasn’t* panned out. It also doesn’t account for the need for new input materials if demand ramps up.

[onthelookout777]

Very interesting. Looking online, seems there are a number of companies working on these ingenious technologies that could revolutionize rare-earth production.

I have no idea which might be the best to invest in. The following list is just in alphabetical order:

American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC)

CoTec Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: CTH, OTCQB: CTHCF)

Greenwave Technology Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: GWAV)

Infinium (not yet publicly traded)

Metallium (MTMCF)

Phoenix Tailings (not yet publicly traded)

Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV: UCU, OTCQX: UURAF)

[Pontiac]

Thanks for the info.

[Doctor Congo]

Part of why China is mining the most rare earths is that they are willing to create the gigantic strip mines that are necessary.

[oldplayer]

Just off the top of my head, I think coal fly ash might have the least potential as a source of these minerals. On the other hand, tailings piles from mineral mines and mills are ripe targets. Many of these places were in operation a hundred years ago using old technologies and being satisfied with only high grades.

In the 1980’s, a company I worked for almost purchased a tungsten mill just for the tailings. The economics didn’t quite work out then, but it was close. This new technique of the Rice University team might be perfect for such a situation.

[sasquatch]

Implementation near a coal fired power plant would probably work well. Could be a major grid pig.

[\/\/ayne]

I first learned about rare earths as a kid by reading Tom Swift and his Ultrasonic Cycloplane.

[Eleutheria5]

“Part of why China is mining the most rare earths is that they are willing to create the gigantic strip mines that are necessary.”

Pee Buh Dee’s coal train has hauled it away.

[GenXPolymath]

“So there’s huge availability of this. And if you recycle it—metals are infinitely recyclable,” Tour says”

“Mine once, use many”

Every geologist knows this truth, it’s taught from day one in your geoscience 1301 class if not your professor failed you.

Metals are infinitely recyclable they are unless consumed by nuclear fission reactions always recoverable with some less of technical efforts. It comes down to cost always cost. If it is cheaper to mine vs recycle the industry will mine more . If supply and demand in the market makes recycling cost effective vs mining then recycle tech will be used or developed. This is the truth for every metal.

I teach geo 1301 from time to time and I never fail my undergrads.

[GenXPolymath]

Coal fly ash is loaded with metals heavy and radioactive too it rightfully should be classified as toxic waste.

Flash joule heating expands the pores allowing for effective acid leaching to be done it’s a cool process. With nitric and sulfuric or HCL every metal including gold is soluble with a halide you also break every silica (SiO4) bond releasing this metals too. Al,Fe,Ti,Li just to name a few common silicates all have multi billion tonnes per year markets.

Rice opened up a way to mine fly ash, industrial shredded Ewastes, and even landfills you can dig up and shred it and then use plasma torch in a zero oxygen environment to turn it to...syngas and what is effectively fly ash that Rice process works on just as well. There is a literal goldmine in landfills all the Ewaste is loaded with silver and gold in the PCB boards, solder joints and chips when reduced to plasma ash the joule process then acid leach gets at them.

[GenXPolymath]

“There are coal ash piles all over the country from 100+ years of burning coal for electric power.”

There is more energy in the uranium in coal ash than was in the coal burnt in the first place.

Coal is 2-25ppm uranium by mass that’s 2-25grams per tonne

One gram of uranium is 83,000MJ when fully fissioned or turned to plutonium via neutron capture. Pu 238,239,241,242 are all also fully fissionable and they too have 83GJ kg.

One tonne of coal has 2-25 grams of uranium in it and it’s ash has about half of the original the other half went up the stack past the fly ash bag house it was vapor not particulates and contaminated the air.

So half ended up in the ash piles, that’s 1-12.5 grams per tonne which is 83,000 - 1,037,500 MJ per mined tonne vastly more energy than was in what was burnt.

83 gigajoules to 1037 GJ vs...

coal (bituminous/anthracite) providing more (around 29-33 MJ/kg)

softer coals (lignite/sub-bituminous) providing less (around 17-21 MJ/kg).

This translates to about 29.3 Gigajoules (GJ) or 29,300 MJ per tonne for a standard “tonne of coal equivalent” (tce).

[Pontiac]

Coal is 2-25ppm uranium by mass that’s 2-25grams per tonne

Nice analysis.

Uranium is trading at about $0.17 a gram.

So, that gives us around $0.35-4.25 per ton if it is extracted in a pure form marketable form. I don't think this process does that. I believe this process is more of a enrichment process.

A article I read this morning describe the Flash Joule Process as improving the quality of the ore at a Australian mine by 20%.

I did not read that Uranium concentration is improved by this process.

If it possible to use this process at the mine it can produce significant saving in shipping cost.

If you reduce the shipping cost of ore by 20% that is real money.

[Mean Daddy]

There are rare earth deposits all over the country. We need the political will and investment it make it happen.

[Mean Daddy]

They used to add it to concrete for roads but now classified as toxic.

[Pontiac]

Fly Ash is still used in concrete.

But you need an EPA approved mixer.

[Mean Daddy]

Some states its considered toxic so coal plants now have to pay to have it shipped to toxic waste dumps. Raised the price of electricity and the concrete companies lost a cheap filler.

[Pontiac]

Raised the price of electricity and the concrete companies lost a cheap filler.

Fly ash is a superior filler.

Using fly ash in concrete reduces cracking, permeability, and bleeding, creating a dense, high-durability concrete that is resistant to sulphates and alkali-aggregate reactions. This concrete mix also requires less water and has a tendency to resist shrinking.

[Mean Daddy]

My point was it doesn’t cost much