Sail across the sea

Chapter 385 Four Phases and Eight States

"Director Xiao, Director Pei, I just asked Director Song, and he said that the Zeyan Institute has received a notice from the joint working group of the Economic Commission regarding the rectification of rare earth development, and the institute has studied it carefully. I would like to know what the Zeyan Institute's views are on this notice," Gao Fan asked.

"What's your opinion?" Xiao Ping repeated, then asked, "What opinion are you referring to?"

What are your thoughts on the notice itself?

"I have no opinion. Of course, we will resolutely carry out the instructions from our superiors."

"So, how does Zeyan Institute implement this?"

"us……"

Xiao Ping was momentarily speechless. "Resolutely implement" was a common phrase used when responding to instructions from superiors; Xiao Ping had said it so fluently that he never bothered to ponder its true meaning.

Xiao Ping fully supports the rectification of rare earth development. As the research institution closest to the mines, he is well aware of the current chaos in the rare earth development process in Zeshan City, and has repeatedly told his colleagues, including Pei Hengxue, that the development should be seriously rectified and standardized.

Despite his words, when Xiao Ping saw the notice issued by the working group, he felt it had nothing to do with him, because the Zeyan Institute was not the one engaging in reckless mining at the site; they were just a research institution. Whether or not they were to be rectified was none of their business.
He clearly thought it was none of his business, but when answering Gao Fan's question, he slipped up and blurted out, "I will resolutely carry it out." Most people would just laugh off such platitudes; who would take it seriously? These two young men clearly had no social experience whatsoever; they didn't even know what a trick was, directly pressing him on how he would "carry it out." How was he supposed to answer that?

"To resolutely implement means to do whatever our superiors ask us to do. We haven't received any clear instructions from our superiors yet, so we haven't done anything for the time being."

Pei Hengxue smoothed things over for Xiao Ping.

He felt that Gao Fan was deliberately picking a fight, so his tone was somewhat unfriendly when he answered.

Gao Fan smiled and said, "The notice says that all regions and departments are required to attach great importance to the protection of rare earth resources, strictly control the scale of mining, actively develop and apply advanced extraction technology, and improve the comprehensive utilization rate of mineral resources. How can this not be a clear requirement?"

"This isn't a requirement for us. We haven't been directly mining rare earths," Pei Hengxue replied irritably.

Gao Fan's expression made him feel a little disgusted. It was an expression that deserved a beating. If Gao Fan was not some special assistant sent by his superiors, but his child, he would have wanted to give her a big slap.

"Actively developing and applying advanced extraction technologies is a requirement for the Zeyan Institute. If I remember correctly, the outdated extraction technologies currently used in mines were developed by the Zeyan Institute. I've also heard that the Zeyan Institute has sent many engineers to various mines to promote these outdated technologies," Gao Fan said.

"You need evidence to support your claims!" Pei Hengxue retorted angrily. "The pool leaching process currently used in various mines was indeed developed by us, and it's far more advanced than the previous barrel leaching process. We are currently applying for a national invention patent award for this process. Who told you it's an outdated technology?"

"Then let me ask Deputy Director Pei, what is the highest comprehensive utilization rate of rare earth resources that can be achieved using the pool leaching process?" Gao Fan asked calmly. "We have calculated that, theoretically, the highest extraction rate for rare earth minerals in the Zeshan area, which have unique ion-phase exchangeable adsorption states, can reach over 70%," Pei Hengxue said decisively.

Gao Fan smiled and even clapped his hands lightly a few times to show his praise for Pei Hengxue.

Pei Hengxue was old enough to be Gao Fan's father, so he could easily see that the young man's actions were ill-intentioned. He said coldly, "Assistant Gao, please speak your mind. There's no need for this."

“I applaud Deputy Director Pei’s scientific spirit. Even when dealing with questions from superiors, Deputy Director Pei did not violate his scientific conscience and did not tell a single lie,” Gao Fan said.

Pei Hengxue's face suddenly flushed, and he said stiffly, "I don't understand what you're talking about."

“Southern rare earths have four phases and eight states. Deputy Director Pei emphasized that the extraction rate of minerals in the ion-phase exchangeable adsorption state can reach 70%. This is an absolutely correct truth, but it is also a completely irrelevant statement. Am I right?” Gao Fan stared at Pei Hengxue and asked.

"How did you know about the concept of 'four phases and eight states'!" Pei Hengxue was astonished, his previous arrogance completely gone.

Rare earth elements in southern rare earth mines do not exist in a single form, but rather in eight different forms. Each pair of forms can be categorized into a "phase," which is known as the four phases and eight states.

The geological department's understanding of the forms of rare earth elements took a long time, and it was only in the last year or two that the composition of four phases and eight states was finally determined.

The concept of "four phases and eight states" was precisely what Pei Hengxue had summarized. He was preparing to write a paper to introduce this concept when, unexpectedly, this young man in front of him actually mentioned it.

The most critical issue is that the pool leaching process, invented by Zeyan Institute and currently widely used in various mines, can only extract rare earth elements in the ion-phase exchangeable adsorption state among the four phases and eight states. The other three phases and seven states of rare earth elements cannot be extracted by this process.

The proportion of ion-phase exchangeable adsorbed rare earth elements in all rare earth minerals ranges from 42% to 90%. If the proportion of exchangeable adsorbed rare earth elements in a rare earth mineral is 42%, then even if the extraction rate reaches the theoretical maximum of 70%, its utilization rate of all rare earth elements is only 29.4%.

Moreover, the so-called 70% theoretical extraction rate can only be achieved in a laboratory setting using test tubes; it is simply impossible to realize in reality. This means that the resource utilization rate cannot be improved by using the pool leaching process.

Pei Hengxue actually knew this, but faced with Gao Fan's accusations, he couldn't tell the truth. So he resorted to evasive tactics, only talking about the extraction rate of one phase and one state, intending to conceal the remaining three phases and seven states.

Since the concept of four phases and eight states has not yet been proposed, apart from the engineers at Zeyan Institute, no one else could think of this problem. Therefore, Pei Hengxue felt that Gao Fan would not be able to find the flaw.

Who would have thought that Gao Fan was no novice at all? Not only did he know the fatal flaws of the pool immersion process, but he also revealed Pei Hengxue's concept of "four phases and eight states," which he had figured out himself but had not yet made public. This was a blatant slap in the face, and how could Pei Hengxue not blush with shame and feel utterly humiliated?

(End of this chapter)