Evaluation of Rare Earth Elements in Black Sand and Phosphate ores, EGYPT

Shahin, Mahmoud Sayed Ahmed; Saad, Ebtissam A; Shazly, Ahmed; Ezzat, Amir; Elmongy, Sayed A

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2020.21042.2305

Evaluation of Rare Earth Elements in Black Sand and Phosphate ores, EGYPT

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

² chemistry, Faculty of science , Ain Shams University

³ Central laboratories, Almaza, Cairo, Egypt

⁴ Nuclear and Radiological Regularity Authority (ENRRA), Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejchem.2020.21042.2305

Abstract

The rare earth elements (REEs), uranium (U) and thorium (Th) isotopes found naturally in soil, rock, water and plant. About 20 samples of Black sand and phosphate were collected from different locations in the Rashid city , Egypt. All the collected samples were prepared and chemically treated using different acids and microwave, then analyzed using ICP-MS. The present work was conducted to identify and evaluate the compositional trends of REEs, U and Th in the samples in terms of distribution patterns and indicator ratios. The results revealed that the black sand and phosphate ores are rich as natural sources of U, Th and other rare earth elements. The elements’ concentrations in black sands and phosphate ores were found higher than the world average crust soil.

Keywords