China is examining coal refuse as a potential source of critical metals including germanium, aluminium, lithium and gallium. The effort builds on existing coal processing infrastructure. A leading researcher noted both opportunities and technical challenges.
China is leaning into its industrial strengths to extract germanium, aluminium, lithium and gallium from fossil fuel.
“The coal refuse contains a variety of metal elements and could become an important source of critical metal supply,” Dai Shifeng, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, said in an interview with China Energy News in late April.
China’s coal production lines already have integrated facilities for washing, chemical processing and power generation, providing a strong industrial foundation for resource recovery, according to the report.
Dai cautioned that successful metal extraction required close tracking of coal quality and composition. “Some power plants blend coal from different sources before combustion. As a result, the metal content in fly ash from the same plant is constantly changing, making extraction difficult,” he added.