Abstract:Total rare earth leaching efficiency of rare earth elements in Zhijin rare-earth phosphate ore by dosing H2SO4, HCl, H3PO4 and HNO3 was less than 36%. The process named activated roasting and leaching with mixture of nitric acid and ammonia was proposed for comprehensive utilization of Zhijin rare-earth phosphate ore. Under the optimum conditions, leaching rates of CaO and MgO are 24.55% and 19.75%, respectively, and corresponding loss rates of P2O5 and rare earth elements (Y, La, Nd, Ce) are 11.25% and 3.61%, respectively. Y, La, Nd, Ce and P2O5 in obtained concentrates achieve certain enrichment. Leaching performance of concentrates is significantly improved compared with raw ore and leaching efficiencies of P2O5 and rare earth elements (Y, La, Nd, Ce) in HNO3 system rise by nearly 40 percent point.