REE Database Management System: Evaluation of REE Deposits and Occurrences

Abstract

The future availability of Rare Earth Elements (REE) is of concern due to monopolistic market situation, environmentally unsustainable mining, and insecure supply. The inequality between supply and demand as well as the decreased Chinese export quota has boosted exploration activities. There is a lot of information available on REE prospects, dispersed in information instruments such as company reports, scientific literature, and feasibility studies. But there is a lack of a comprehensive system that contains all pertinent data on REE deposits and occurrences. Therefore, a comprehensive REE Database Management System (DBMS) is developed that holds all relevant information concerning REE deposits/occurrences. The system comprises the economic dataset of REE (potential)-producing companies. Moreover, tools are offered for defining parameters that allow parallel comparison of up to five REE prospects. The DBMS consists of evaluation systems that rate deposits as well as occurrences by an attributive defined Rating System. Besides, it contains a Ranking System that ranks deposits according to specific attributes such as Material Grade, deleterious elements, tonnage, and prices. Further, it comprises a Cluster-building tool that allows creating individual REE Cluster groups and enables the implementation of decision rules like a Use Value Analysis. The DBMS is a powerful tool for industrial companies, particularly concerning the unsteady supply and demand situation of REE. Therefore, uncertainties of REE supply could be reduced. Thus, the DBMS might help occurrences to develop better forecasts and minimize risks for better planning the strategy of future purchase of REE.