I am a Botany student specializing in Plant Physiology. My research interest are Phytoremediation and Heavy Metal Stress. My research is all about the uptake of Rare-Earth Metal Elements in plants. My question was is it possible that there is a presence of rare earth metal in the abandoned mined-out mining site in Copper-rich soil? If possible, do you have a scientific literature about the presence of rare-earth metal elements in the copper-rich soil in the mining area or other places.
Thank you. :)
It depends on the nature of the copper mineralisation in the particular area. REE will be more enriched in some types than other types of copper mineralisation (different genetic processes produce copper deposits with differing element associations). However, in general REE are not greatly enriched in most Cu mineralisation (however REE can be quite enriched in some IOCG type copper deposits, e.g. in the mineral bastnaesite in Olympic Dam ore deposit, South Australia). Likewise I think REE may be enriched in the Palabora (South Africa) carbonatite copper deposit. It also depends on what you mean by enriched - it will have a different meaning to you compared with an economic geologist (the latter will commonly be more interested in it if it is an economic by-product, e.g. I don't think it is recovered commercially from ore at Olympic Dam). So your question needs to be more specific.
Difficult to read at that scale. If I reads correctly it shows an interesting independence of REE patterns in soil versus plants, and intersting enrichment behaviour of Eu - the opposite effect of Eu depletion that occurs in magmatic processes with early removal of Ca feldspar (plagioclase).
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Botany