Naslov (eng)

Rare earth elements and uranium in Minjingu phosphate fertilizer products: Plant food for thought

Autor

Haneklaus, Nils H.
Mwalongo, Dennis A.
Lisuma, Jacob B.
Amasi, Aloyce I.
Mwimanzi, Jerome
Bituh, Tomislav
Ćirić, Jelena
Nowak, Jakub
Rysziko, Urszula
Rusek, Piotr
Maged, Ali
Bilal, Essaid
Bellefqih, Hajar
Quamouche, Khaoula
Ait Brahim, Jamal
Beniazza, Redouane
Mazouz, Hamid
van der Merwe, Elizabet M.
Truter, Wayne
Kyomuhimbo, Hilda D.
Brink, Hendrik
Steiner, Gerald
Bertau, Martin
Soni, Raghav S.
Patwardhan, Ashwin P.
Ghosh, Pushipto K.
Kivevele, Thomas T.
Mtei, Kelvin M.
Waclawek, Stanislaw

Publisher

Opis (eng)

Minjingu phosphate ore is Tanzania’s sole domestic supply of phosphorus (P). The ore contains medium to high concentrations of naturally occurring P2O5 (20–35 %) and relevant concentrations of uranium and rare earth elements (REEs) are also suspected to be present. Currently, neither uranium nor REEs are recovered. They either end up in mine tailings or are spread across agricultural soils with fertilizer products. This work provides a first systematic review of the uranium and REE concentrations that can be expected in the different layers of Minjingu phosphate ore, the way the ore is presently processed, as well as a discussion on alternative processing pathways with uranium/REE recovery. The study analyzed ten distinct Minjingu phosphate ore layers, four mine tailings, and five intermediate and final mineral fertilizer products from the Minjingu mine and processing plant located in northern Tanzania. The results confirm that the uranium concentrations and to a lesser degree, the REE concentrations are indeed elevated if compared to concentrations in other phosphate ores. The study does not identify a significant risk resulting from this. The development of techno-economic solutions for more comprehensive utilization of Minjingu ore is, however, strongly encouraged and suggestions on such processes are provided.

Jezik

engleski

Datum

2024-05-05

Licenca

Ovo delo je licencirano pod uslovima licence
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 - Creative Commons Autorstvo 4.0 International License.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Predmet

Minjingu phosphate ore, Rare earth elements (REEs), Uranium, Circular economy,Tanzania

Deo kolekcije (1)

o:32

Institut za higijenu i tehnologiju mesa