Abstract
The critical role of rare and rare-earth metals in semiconductor production and the defense sector is intensifying geopolitical tensions, forcing countries to diversify their supply chains and seek alternative sources of mineral raw materials. Rethinking the coal mining industry and its potential for the co-extraction of rare and rare-earth metals from coal deposits and from coal combustion waste creates an additional source of critical and strategic mineral raw materials, thereby promoting the principles of a circular economy. This is of paramount importance in today’s dynamic and volatile world, where access to mineral raw materials forms the foundation for the sustainability of the economies of rapidly developing countries, constitutes a strategic national security priority, and serves as a tool to reduce external dependence on unreliable importers. The distribution of scandium, germanium and gallium in coal seams of Western Donbas is examined. Research into and extraction of impurity elements from hard coal is a promising field, given that the coal seams of Western Donbas are of industrial significance in terms of germanium and contain elevated levels of rare and rare-earth elements. The values given represent the content of scandium, germanium and gallium in coal from Western Donbas, specifically in the Pavlohrad-Petropavlivka and Lozova geological-industrial regions. The extraction rates of germanium, gallium and scandium in combined fractions of coal of different densities are presented. The average germanium and gallium content in coal is given by sections, mines and coal seams of Western Donbas.