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Chemical and Mineralogical Characterization of Malaysian Monazite Concentrate

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Abstract

Chemical and mineralogical characterization of Malaysian monazite, a phosphate mineral, bearing rare earth elements separated from the tin tailings originated from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, was performed in this paper. The study aims to collect detailed information on the chemical composition, crystal phases, and microstructure of the mineral monazite concentrate that would aid to optimize the subsequent hydrometallurgical processes for high-efficient separation of thorium and other associated rare earth elements. A systematic characterization study of the concentrate was conducted using techniques such as optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). These techniques analyzed the morphological details on the surface, elemental analysis, and mineral association assessment and identified the surface functionalization groups. The bulk composition and the mineral phases in which the elements are present were studied by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies respectively. The XRF analysis confirmed the presence of Ce, La, Nd, Pr, and Y (rare earth oxides: REO’s ~ 60 wt.%) while thorium dioxide (ThO2) accounted for 7 wt.% of the total composition. Traces of Ca, K, Al, Fe, Ti, and Mn were also confirmed by SEM elemental mapping. The XRD results confirmed that the concentrate was primarily composed of monazite (Ce, La, Nd, Th (PO4)) along with minor impurity phases of quartz. Automated mineralogical analysis was used as a confirmatory tool to corroborate the preliminary evidences. Based on the particle size distribution analysis supported by SEM, the majority of monazite grains were found to be present in the size range of 170–210 μm. Strong bands of PO4 and SiO4 were observed in the IR spectra corresponding to the phospho-silicate matrix of the REE mineral.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Norlia Baharun, School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM, for her advice in the mineralogical characterization section. The authors are also thankful to Mrs Khaironie Mohamed Takip and Dr. Roshasnorlyza Hazan, Material Technology Group, Material Technology Group, Malaysian Nuclear Agency and Mr. Abdul Mutalib Bin Abdullah and Mr. Khairul Anuar Safie, Earth Material Characterization Laboratory, Centre for Global Archeological Research, USM, and Mr. Abdul Rashid, Mr. Mohammad Azrul and Mr. Mohamad Hasnor in the School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, USM.

Funding

This study received financial support from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Fellowship. This work was also financially supported by the USM and Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of Malaysia through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (Nos. 203/PBAHAN/6071364) and (Nos. 203/PBAHAN/6071402) and Bridging grant from USM (304.PBAHAN/6316116).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Nibong Tebal, 14300, Malaysia

    Sanjith Udayakumar, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd Noor, Sheikh Abdul Rezan Sheikh Abdul Hamid & Teuku Andika Rama Putra

  2. George S. Ansell Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    Corby G. Anderson

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  1. Sanjith Udayakumar
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Correspondence to Sheikh Abdul Rezan Sheikh Abdul Hamid.

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Udayakumar, S., Mohd Noor, A.F., Sheikh Abdul Hamid, S.A.R. et al. Chemical and Mineralogical Characterization of Malaysian Monazite Concentrate. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 37, 415–431 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-019-00173-w

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