Scandium speciation in a world-class lateritic deposit

Chassé, Mathieu; Griffin, William L.; O’Reilly, Suzanne Y.; Calas, Georges

doi:10.7185/geochemlet.1711

Cited by 80 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Blue samples are from the intact part of the core. Yellow/orange ones are from the deeper undated part below 1440 m. In addition, two spectra referred to mineral standards are shown: Goethite [41] and jarosite [42], which were retrieved from literature and have to be considered as merely indicative. Panel (b): Pre-edge analysis of the absorption spectra (see also the caption of Figure 1).…”

Section: Iron Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The possibility of finding a stratigraphically intact ice sequence with a potential basal age exceeding one million years in Antarctica is giving renewed interest to deep ice coring operations. But the older and deeper the ice, the more impactful are the post-depositional processes that alter and modify the information entrapped within ice layers. Understanding in situ post-depositional processes occurring in the deeper part of ice cores is essential to comprehend how the climatic signals are preserved in deep ice, and consequently how to construct the paleoclimatic records. New techniques and new interpretative tools are required for these purposes. In this respect, the application of synchrotron light to microgram-sized atmospheric dust samples extracted from deep ice cores is extremely promising. We present here preliminary results on two sets of samples retrieved from the Talos Dome Antarctic ice core. A first set is composed by samples from the stratigraphically intact upper part of the core, the second by samples retrieved from the deeper part of the core that is still undated. Two techniques based on synchrotron light allowed us to characterize the dust samples, showing that mineral particles entrapped in the deepest ice layers display altered elemental composition and anomalies concerning iron geochemistry, besides being affected by inter-particle aggregation.

show abstract

Section: Iron Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the last decade, Sc-rich occurrences with economically attractive grades and tonnages have been identified in some oxide-rich laterites developed after mafic and ultramafic rocks (Aiglsperger et al, 2016;Audet, 2008;Bailly et al, 2014;Chassé et al, 2017;Hoatson et al, 2011;Maulana et al, 2016;Ulrich, 2010). There, scandium enrichment is interpreted to be largely residual and resulting from the intense leaching of mobile cations during lateritisation of the parent rock, while scandium remains trapped and concentrated in neo-formed goethite.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Petrology and geochemistry of scandium in New Caledonian Ni-Co laterites

Teitler

Cathelineau

Ulrich³

et al. 2019

Journal of Geochemical Exploration

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The growing demand for scandium (Sc), essential for several modern industrial applications, thrives the mining industry to develop alternative Sc sources. In such context, significant Sc concentrations (~100 ppm) were recently reported in several Ni-Co lateritic oxide ores developed after mafic-ultramafic rocks. This contribution examines the distribution of Sc in Ni-Co laterites from New Caledonia, the sixth largest Ni producer worldwide. Representative lateritic profiles were selected based on the protolith type and include dunite, harzburgite and lherzolite protoliths, wherein the Sc content, determined by the relative proportion of olivine and pyroxene, ranges from <5 ppm in dunite to >10 ppm in lherzolite. In Ni-Co laterites, dissolution and leaching of primary Mg-rich silicates leads to the residual enrichment of iron as ferric oxides/oxyhydroxides in the upper horizons. Downward remobilisation and trapping of Ni and Co lead to their local enrichment to economic concentrations, with maximum grades reached in the rocky saprolite and in the transition laterite horizons, respectively. In contrast, maximum Sc enrichment occurs in the yellow laterite horizon, where Sc-bearing goethite reaches about ten times the Sc content of the parent rock. Consequently, harzburgite-and lherzolite-derived yellow laterites yield maximum Sc concentrations up to 100 ppm, together with moderate Ni and Co concentrations. There, Sc is a potentially valuable by-product that could be successfully co-extracted along with Ni and Co through hydrometallurgical processing. In addition to peridotite-hosted laterites, hornblende-rich amphibolites yield elevated Sc up to 130 ppm. The saprolitisation of amphibolites leads to the formation of a goethite-gibbsitekaolinite mixture with Sc concentrations >200 ppm. There, goethite is the main Sc carrier with up to 800 ppm Sc. Therefore, despite their relatively limited volumes, amphibolite-derived saprolites may also represent attractive targets for Sc in New Caledonia.

show abstract

“…The geochemical affinity of Sc with Fe 2 O 3 has been considered to a great extent both in bauxites and in laterites. Many authors [50][51][52] proposed that the Sc occurrence in residual soils is mainly related to an isomorphous substitution of Sc 3+ with Fe 3+ in the hematite lattice and lesser with the Sc 3+ uptaking as adsorbed metal onto the goethite surface. The behaviour of Ga during the bauxitization process could be variable.…”

Section: Genetic Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical Characterization of Bauxite Deposits from the Abruzzi Mining District (Italy)

Putzolu¹,

Papa²,

Mondillo³

et al. 2018

Minerals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The Abruzzi bauxite district includes the deposits located on the Campo Felice plateau and those of the Monti d'Ocre, which had been mined in the first part of the 20th century. Bauxite is of the karst type, with textures ranging between oolitic and oolitic-conglomeratic, the latter suggesting a partial reworking of evolved lateritic soils. The high contents of Al 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 (average values 53.76 and 21.76 wt %, respectively) are associated with the presence of boehmite, hematite, and minor goethite. SiO 2 and TiO 2 have average values of 7.79 and 2.75 wt %, corresponding to the presence of kaolinite, anatase and rutile. Among the minor so-called "bauxitophile" elements V, Co, Ni, Cr and Zr, the most enriched is Cr, with an average value of 0.07 wt %. Nickel has an average value of 210.83 ppm. Vanadium shows an average value of 266.57 ppm, whereas the average Co concentration is 35.89 ppm. The total rare earth elements (REE) concentration in the sampled bauxite sites is variable between ca. 700 and 550 ppm. Among REEs, the most abundant element is Ce, with Ce anomalies commonly associated with authigenic REE-fluoro-carbonates, probably produced after the REEs remobilization from primary detrital minerals and their precipitation in neo-formed phases during the bauxitization process. Scandium and Ga occur in small amounts (57 and 60 ppm, respectively), but geochemical proxies of their remobilization and uptake in neo-formed minerals (Feand Al-(hydr)oxides, respectively) have been observed. The mean Eu/Eu* and Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 ratios and the Ni-Cr contents of the Abruzzi bauxites suggest that the parent rock of these deposits was a material of acid affinity, likely corresponding to volcanic tephra or eolic loess-type sands.

show abstract

Scandium speciation in a world-class lateritic deposit

Cited by 80 publications

References 11 publications

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

Petrology and geochemistry of scandium in New Caledonian Ni-Co laterites

Geochemical Characterization of Bauxite Deposits from the Abruzzi Mining District (Italy)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About