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View all search resultsUS universities eye rare earth recovery research with Indonesian partners
Top-tier research universities UNR and WashU are looking to collaborate with Indonesian partners in REE and critical minerals research, including on their recovery from waste streams.
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A sample of bastnaesite ore, a mineral used in the rare earths industry to extract elements such as cerium, lanthanum and neodymium, is displayed on Oct. 14, 2025, at the Geological Museum of China in Beijing. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)
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wo top-tier research universities in the United States are seeking to collaborate with Indonesian partners in research on the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals from mining waste, though talks are in the exploratory stage and no concrete partnerships have taken shape.
The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) has extended an open invitation to Indonesian universities and businesses to collaborate on rare earth recovery from mining waste.
Meanwhile, Washington University in Saint Louis (WashU) says it is open to new collaborations on the topic but prefers a broad-based partnership centered on research and workforce development.
"Located in a major US mining hub, UNR could offer Indonesian students world-class, hands-on learning through our laboratories, industry connections and exposure to mining and metallurgical operations in Nevada," Ehsan Vahidi, an associate professor and chair of UNR's mining and metallurgical engineering department, told The Jakarta Post on Oct. 23.
He said the university would welcome joint research at its facilities on a specific challenge identified by Indonesian partners, including rare earth recovery from mining waste.
"The goal would be to develop recovery processes suited to those resources and evaluate their technical performance, economic feasibility and environmental impacts," Vahidi said.
Identifying funding for graduate students and related research costs would help turn the opportunity into an actionable project, he added, acknowledging that funding remained the main practical hurdle.
