Distribution Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements and Heavy Metals in a Soil-Plant System at Bayan Obo Rare Earth Mine, Inner Mongolia

GAO Juan-qin; YU Yang; LI Yi-ke; LI Rui-ping; KE Chang-hui; WANG Deng-hong; YU Feng; ZHANG Sai; WANG Xue-lei

doi:10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.202102210026

Rock and Mineral Analysis > 2021 > 40(6): 871-882. > DOI: 10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.202102210026

GAO Juan-qin, YU Yang, LI Yi-ke, LI Rui-ping, KE Chang-hui, WANG Deng-hong, YU Feng, ZHANG Sai, WANG Xue-lei. Distribution Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements and Heavy Metals in a Soil-Plant System at Bayan Obo Rare Earth Mine, Inner Mongolia[J]. Rock and Mineral Analysis, 2021, 40(6): 871-882. DOI: 10.15898/j.cnki.11-2131/td.202102210026

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Distribution Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements and Heavy Metals in a Soil-Plant System at Bayan Obo Rare Earth Mine, Inner Mongolia

1.
School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment, Ministry of Natural Resources; Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
3.
Chengdu Surveying Geotechnical Research Institute Co., LTD., Metallurgical Corporation of China, Chengdu 610023, China
4.
Altay Kaiyuan Mining Co., LTD., Altay 836599, China

More Information

Received Date: February 20, 2021
Revised Date: June 29, 2021
Accepted Date: July 27, 2021
Published Date: November 27, 2021

Abstract

HIGHLIGHTS
(1) Soil and plants were enriched in light rare earth elements (REEs). The Ce content of soil and plants reached 49.95% and 48.55%, respectively, which was consistent with the Ce rich characteristics of Bayan Obo ore.

(2) The spatial variation of REEs in Limonium bicolor (Bag.) Kuntze was highly consistent with the variation of mineralization degree of three ore bodies.

(3) The accumulation of Zn, Cd and Pb in the soil of the mining area was detected, thus it is necessary to pay more attention to the mining activities in the corresponding region.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUNDRare earth resources are essential for a wide range of advanced technologies, which have received considerable attention in the world. Bayan Obo is the largest rare earth mine in the world. The study on the distribution characteristics of rare earth elements (REEs) and heavy metal elements in the environmental media such as soil and plants in the Bayan Obo mining area can provide basic data for the investigation of the environmental status of the mining area and provide reference for its environmental restoration.
OBJECTIVESTo investigate the distribution characteristics of REEs and heavy metal elements in various environmental media at different areas in the Bayan Obo mine.
METHODSNine plant samples, six soil samples, one rock sample and one cow manure sample were collected from the Bayan Obo rare earth mine and surrounding areas. The contents of 15 rare earth elements and 8 heavy metal elements of these samples were determined by ICP-MS, which were used to study the behavior of elements and the variation rules in space.
RESULTSThe results showed that the distribution patterns of REEs in rocks, soil, plants, and cow manure samples were similar: obvious enrichment of light-REEs and depletion of high-REEs. The richest rare earth element in soil and plant was Ce, reaching 49.95% and 48.55%, respectively. The spatial variation law of the total content of rare earth element in Limonium bicolor (Bag.) Kuntze was consistent with the mineralization change of the three ore bodies: the main ore>the east ore>Dongjielegele ore. This indicated that the rare earth content of this plant was basically controlled by the minerality of the ore body, and it was more accurate to indicate the enrichment degree of rare earth in the growth environment. In addition, there was accumulation of Zn (465-778mg/kg), Cd (1.35-2.23mg/kg), Pb (181-431mg/kg) in the soil of the mining area. Some points of Cd and Pb were beyond the risk control value.
CONCLUSIONSThe ore, soil, and plant samples in Bayan Obo all show the characteristics of Ce enrichment. Moreover, the rare earth content of plants is highly correlated with the ore body where it grows. The REE content characteristics among the three media show obvious inheritance and consistency. Special attention should be paid to the mining and agricultural activities in the main mining area in Bayan Obo because of the accumulation of Zn, Cd, and Pb in these mining areas.
- Bayan Obo,
- soil-plant,
- inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry,
- rare earth elements,
- heavy metal elements,
- distribution characteristics

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