Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in the commercial extraction of the critical metal rubidium directly from salt lake brine, potentially slashing dependence on imports – mostly from Canada – that now supply two-thirds of China’s needs.
This industrial-scale method produces ultra-pure rubidium chloride from ultra-low concentrations, offering a new domestic source for this strategically vital material.
The Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes (ISL) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on Wednesday that researchers had produced 99.9 per cent pure rubidium chloride from potassium chloride material containing just 0.001 per cent rubidium.
Rubidium, a strategically vital metal for emerging industries, is widely used in the electronics, specialty glass and aerospace sectors.
The metal has extensive military, technological and civilian applications. For example, rubidium ions can help improve the performance of perovskite solar cells, while ultra-precise rubidium atomic clocks lose less than one second every 3.7 million years. Rubidium chloride is used in tumour cell imaging for medical research.
China faces substantial challenges in rubidium resource development, including low ore grades, difficult extraction conditions and reliance on imports.
