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News & Resources

This research is being led by the College of Engineering & Mines’ Center for Process Engineering Research (CPER), a multidisciplinary team of experts that specializes in applied research and technology demonstration and evaluation. Partners also include the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center, who is leading a related effort to assess the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) resources in the Williston Basin, and the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources. More information on these organizations and related work is found in the links below.

  • CEM Center for Process Engineering Research
  • UND EERC - Williston Basin CORE-CM
  • North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources - REEs & Other Critical Minerals

  • Geologists Find Elevated Critical Minerals in ND (2024).
  • UND Researchers Hit Milestone in Rare-Earth Minerals Production (2023).
  • North Dakota Researchers Find Cost-Effective Way to Extract Rare-Earth Elements from Coal (2023).
  • NETL Advances Transformation in North Dakota Through Revolutionary Uses for Lignite in the Extraction of Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals (2023).
  • North Dakota Hopes to Cash in on Rare Earth Elements (2023).
  • ND Readies for Mineral Boom (2023).
  • UND Awarded $8 Million Department of Energy Grant to Study Rare Earth Material Extraction (2023).
  • Could North Dakota Begin Mining Rare Earth Minerals Soon? (2023).
  • Rare Earth Minerals; What, Exactly, Is in ND and When Will the State Profit from Them? (2023).
  • Rare Earth Elements: North Dakota’s Diamonds in The Rough (2023).
  • Fresh Power in the Old Power Plant (2021).
  • Welcome to the World’s Largest Oil Drilling Simulator (2021).
  • Powering up North Dakota and the World’s Energy Future (2021).
  • UND Research: Open for Business (2020).
  • Nolan Theaker from the University of North Dakota Joined the Energy Matters Radio Show to Update the Process Related to Research in Rare Earth Elements (2020).
  • Rare Earth Project Has National Security Potential (2019).
  • From Coal, a New Source of Rare Earths (2018).
  • Technological Gold (2017).
  • A Rare Opportunity: ND Is a New Frontier in Vital Rare Earth Element Research (2018).

  • Critical Minerals Enrichment in Lignites Beneath the Rhame Bed (Paleocene) of the Slope Formation in the Williston Basin of North Dakota (2023).
  • Elevated Critical Mineral Concentrations Associated with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Golden Valley Formation, North Dakota (2023).
  • A Review of Competitive Advantage Theory Applied to the Global Rare Earth Industry Transition (2023).
  • 3D Geologic Modeling of Rare Earth Element Concentrations in Lignite Coal (2023).
  • Application of Dynamic Techno-Economic Assessment: A Case Study in Rare Earth Element Extraction (2023).
  • A Study of the Global Rare Earth Industry Transition (2023).
  • Critical Minerals in the Fox Hills (Cretaceous), Hell Creek (Cretaceous) and Ludlow (Paleocene) Formations in North Dakota (2022).
  • Rare Earth and Other Critical Element Concentrations in the Sentinel Butte and Bullion Creek Formations (Paleocene), Billings, McKenzie, and Golden Valley Counties, North Dakota (2022).
  • Mathematical Modeling of Pre and Post Combustion Processes in Coal Power Plant (2022).
  • Rare Earth and Other Critical Element Concentrations in the Sentinel Butte Formation, Tracy Mountain, North Dakota (2021).
  • Upgrade of Rare Earth Element Concentrate by Selective Dissolution and Ion Exchange (2021).
  • Investigation of Rare Earth Element Extraction from North Dakota Coal-Related Feedstocks (Phase 2 Final Technical Report) (2021).
  • A Biosorption-Based Approach for Selective Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Byproducts (2020).
  • Statistical Analysis and Machine Learning for Coal Classification for Rare Earth Elements + Y (REY) (2020).
  • Rare Earth Element Concentrations in the Harmon, Hanson, and H Lignites in Slope County, North Dakota (2018).
  • Leaching Behavior of Rare Earth Elements in Fort Union Lignite Coals of North America (2018).
  • Rare Earth Elements in North Dakota Lignite Coal and Lignite-Related Materials (2018).
  • Rare Earth Element Concentrations in Fort Union and Hell Creek Strata in Western North Dakota (2017).
  • Evaluation of Rare Earth Element Extraction From North Dakota Coal-Related Feed Stocks (2017).

  • Rare Earth Element Extraction from Coal. Google Patent – US10669610B2.
  • Method for Leaching Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals from Organically Associated Materials. Google Patent – US20220145421A1.
  • Generation of Rare Earth Elements from Organically-Associated Leach Solutions. Google Patent – US20220144660A1.
College of Engineering & Mines Research Institute
Collaborative Energy Complex Room 246
2844 Campus Rd. Stop 8153
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8153
P 701.777.5745
daniel.laudal@UND.edu

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College of Engineering & Mines

Upson II Room 165
243 Centennial Dr Stop 8155
Grand Forks, ND 58202-8155

701.777.2180 | UND.ceminfo@UND.edu

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