SF 3035

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/22/2016 09:26am

A bill for an act
relating to metals; requiring feasibility study of extracting rare earth metals from
fly ash resulting from coal combustion; appropriating money.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin APPROPRIATION; COAL ASH METALS STUDY.
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new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of natural resources for a grant to the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University
of Minnesota-Duluth to study the technical and economic feasibility of using currently
available extraction techniques to recover economically viable concentrations of rare earth
metals, whose atomic numbers range from 57 through 71, from fly ash resulting from coal
combustion. By July 1, 2017, the findings and recommendations of the study must be
submitted in a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and house of
representatives committees with primary jurisdiction over mining. The report must include:
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new text begin (1) a summary of the extant literature reporting measurements of the concentration
of rare earth metals in fly ash resulting from coal combustion;
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new text begin (2) analysis of the technologies available to extract and concentrate rare earth metals
from fly ash;
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new text begin (3) results of tests to measure the concentration of rare earth metals in representative
samples of fly ash taken from coal-burning power plants located in Minnesota; and
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new text begin (4) estimates of the costs of extracting and concentrating rare earth metals from the
fly ash samples measured in clause (3) and a comparison of the costs with current and
projected market prices for the metals.
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