Rare earth element distributions in rivers and sediments from the Erdenet Cu–Mo mining area, Mongolia

Munemoto, Takashi; Tsetsgee, Solongo; Okuyama, Akihiro; Fukushi, Keisuke; Yunden, Ariuntungalag; Batbold, Taivanbat; Ochir, Altansukh; Takahashi, Yoshio; Iwai, Hisanori; Nagao, Seiya

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2020.104800

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The effect of organic matter on the formation of HREE enrichment waters can be ruled out due to the low DOC concentrations, which are generally below 3.2 mg/L with exceptions of sample CPT3 and CPT4. Preferential complexation of MREE relative to LREE and HREE with humic acid could lead to MREE-enriched patterns in alkaline waters (Wood, 1993;Pourret et al, 2007), which is the case reported by Munemoto et al (2020), but not for the present study. The SEM results of filter residuals show no substantial REE+Y in forms of particulate (>0.22 μm) (Fig.…”

Section: Ree+y Patternscontrasting

confidence: 54%

“…The lowest ΣREE concentration (1782 μg/L) in MW sample is higher than the maximum values of most mine sites. These include the effluents discharged by an abandoned Zn-Pb mine (Santa Lucia) in western Cuba (370-860 μg/L)(Romero et al 2010), AMD in the Iberian Pyrite Belt mine area, Portugal(Pérez-López et al, 2010), and surface waters of a Cu-Mo mine tailing pond, Mongolia(Munemoto et al, 2020). It is noteworthy that the ΣREE concentrations show a wide range from 0.17 to 13046 μg/L (average 1596 μg/L) with pH of 4.6 to7.4 in stream waters from a rare earth mine area, Southern China, which is the same ion-adsorption type deposit(Hao et al, 2016…”

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confidence: 99%

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Geochemical signatures of rare earth elements and yttrium in the vicinity of an ion-adsorption type deposit: roles of source sediment control

Liu¹,

Guo²,

Pourret³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The elevated concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and yttrium (REE+Y) in acid mine drainage (AMD) constitute an opportunity for REE+Y recovery.However, the source and control of REE+Y signatures in AMD remains uncertain.Water, rock, sediment and sludge samples were collected from an ion-adsorption rare earth mining area to investigate REE+Y concentration and fractionation patterns in AMD. High concentrations of REE+Y occur in the pristine mine water (MW), and decrease progressively with MW passing through nitrification-denitrification (NDT) and coagulating-precipitation (CPT) treatment procedures in a water treatment plant.Concentrations of REE+Y are 1 to 3 orders of magnitude higher in MW, NDT and CPT samples than those in well water (WW), and are negatively correlated (R 2 0.72) with pH (3.8 to 8.7), suggesting that an enhanced acidic dissolution of minerals contributes REE+Y to AMD from the source area. Speciation calculation indicates that REE+Y are mainly free ions and sulfate complexes in MW and NDT samples, while carbonato and dicarbonato complexes in CPT samples. Normalized REE+Y patterns of water samples show a coherent enrichment of heavy REE (HREE) over light REE (LREE) and negative Ce anomalies. HREE-enriched patterns and Ce anomalies are kept relatively constant in MW, NDT and CPT samples, despite their huge disparity in REE+Y concentrations, indicating a limited impact of preferential precipitation of LREE over HREE on REE+Y fractionations. The HREE-enriched patterns possessed by AMD are similar to those of sediment samples, while are distinct from whole rocks. These behaviors suggest a major role of sediment source in controlling REE+Y concentrations and patterns in AMD. Results of XRD show abundance of muscovite, kaolinite and feldspar in sediments. Combining to SEM-EDS examinations, minerals such as kaolinite, schwertmannite (Fe16O16(SO4)3(OH)6(H2O)10•10H2O) and ferrihydrite are suggested to be the main hosts of REE+Y in sediments. Hence, HREE-enriched patterns of AMD result from preferential leaching of HREE from sediments which accumulate REE+Y after being initially mobilized from rocks under the conditions prevailing in mine site. The free form and sulfate complexation preserves REE+Y patterns and facilitates REE+Y mobility in the AMD system. Based on the plant treatment capacity, the potentially recoverable LREE and HREE are

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Section: Ree+y Patternscontrasting

confidence: 54%

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confidence: 99%

Geochemical signatures of rare earth elements and yttrium in the vicinity of an ion-adsorption type deposit: roles of source sediment control

Liu¹,

Guo²,

Pourret³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Northeast of the city there is a coal-fired thermal power plant with an ash pond close to the Erdenet River. Coal ash from the power plant is dumped into the ash pond via a pipeline . Groundwater used for cooling of the power plant is continuously discharged into the ash pond from where it leaks into the Erdenet River.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Coal ash from the power plant is dumped into the ash pond via a pipeline. 22 Groundwater used for cooling of the power plant is continuously discharged into the ash pond from where it leaks into the Erdenet River. The area received 410 mm of annual precipitation in 2018, 60−120 mm/month during the wet season (June−September) (Figure S2a).…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mo Contamination in Rivers near the Erdenet Mining Area, Mongolia: Field Evidence of High Mobility of Mo at pH >8

et al. 2021

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Although recent research points to Mo as a candidate for anthropogenically induced contamination of natural waters, there has been little research on Mo contamination in river water. The Erdenet mine in Mongolia is the one of the largest Mo mines in the world. Our systematic temporal and spatial monitoring of Mo concentrations in river waters around the Erdenet mine from March to November 2018 showed that in the Khangal River, which is downstream of the Erdenet mining area, Mo concentrations exceeded 70 μg/L (the World Health Organization health-based guideline) during summer. The sources of the Mo in river water are groundwater used for cooling in the Erdenet power plant and seepage from mine tailing ponds. Mo concentrations had a positive correlation with the pH of the river water. Laboratory adsorption experiments confirmed that the pH dependency of Mo concentrations originates from the adsorption/desorption reactions of iron oxide in the river sediments. Mo concentrations in river water were still higher 10 km downstream of the contamination sources. Our observations provided field evidence of high solubility and mobility of Mo in river water that were caused by the lower distribution coefficients of Mo adsorbed on iron oxides in water at pH >8.

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“…The presence of Ba and rare earth elements (such as Ce, La and Nd) could be linked to volcanic activity [19]. Additionally, there is evidence that mining activities related to copper and molybdenum tend to impact watercourses with rare earth elements [20,21], a situation observed in northern Chile which has a generally strong copper-mining activity. On the other hand, the Robalo, Ukika and Bronce rivers presented lower concentrations of Ce, La, Nd and Pr, which could be explained by the fact that these rivers are located in an area with no volcanic activity and with little anthropic intervention.…”

Section: Sample Preparation and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

First Report of Rare Earth Elements and Other Chemical Elements in Sediments of Rivers throughout Chile

Celis¹,

Espejo²,

Chiang³

et al. 2022

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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The increase in demand for emerging technologies has also increased the presence of rare earth elements and other lesser-known elements in the environment that were previously stable in the Earth's crust. The aim of this study was to determine the current status of five rare earth elements such as cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr) and yttrium (Y), and barium (Ba), niobium (Nb), rubidium (Rb), thorium (Th) and zirconium (Zr), in superficial sediments from rivers of northern, central and southern Chile. Data showed that the order of abundance of elements in the river sediments was Ba > Nd > Pr > La > Ce > Zr > Rb > Y > Th > Nb. We found higher Ba, Ce, La, Nd and Pr contents in northern and central Chile. Our findings showed that probably these chemical elements are adsorbed into sediments, which could facilitate remobilization to the water column, thus being more bioavailable to biota. Considering that rivers of northern and central Chile are usually used for human consumption and irrigation purposes, further studies to understand the processes involved in the recycling of elements in the watersheds are necessary. Our results may serve as a basis for environmental impact studies that are required by the Chilean legislation before any productive investment.

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Rare earth element distributions in rivers and sediments from the Erdenet Cu–Mo mining area, Mongolia

Cited by 17 publications

References 61 publications

Geochemical signatures of rare earth elements and yttrium in the vicinity of an ion-adsorption type deposit: roles of source sediment control

Geochemical signatures of rare earth elements and yttrium in the vicinity of an ion-adsorption type deposit: roles of source sediment control

Mo Contamination in Rivers near the Erdenet Mining Area, Mongolia: Field Evidence of High Mobility of Mo at pH >8

First Report of Rare Earth Elements and Other Chemical Elements in Sediments of Rivers throughout Chile

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