Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | Heavy Mineral Analysis of Beach Sands from Bhimunipatnam to Kalingapatnam Coast, SE India: Insights on Provenance and Search for Rare Earth Elements |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Focus area : | Heavy Mineral Exploration, Coastal Geology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Kilaparthi Bangaku Naidu, Indian Institute Of Petroleum And Energy, Andhra Pradesh |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | drnaidugeol@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | The geochemistry of sediments is influenced by source compositions, weathering, sorting, and conditions. However, the effects of source versus process on sediment geochemistry in various tectonic environments are not fully understood. In active continental margin settings, source composition plays a primary role, while weathering and sedimentary differentiation processes contribute significantly to the geochemical variation of passive continental margin sediments. Beach and dune sands are highly sorted sediments dominated by quartz + feldspar and heavy minerals. These heavy minerals are crucial for identifying provenances, evaluating differential contributions of different lithounits, and exploring their role as Rare Earth Elements (REE) carriers. Monazite is an important heavy mineral in east coast beach placers, being the second greatest source of REEs after bastnaesite (83%). Xenotime is a prospective target for heavy REEs, recovered as a by-product from monazite, zircon, rutile, ilmenite, and garnet placer deposits. The east coastlines of India are significant sources of by-product xenotime from placer mining. Relative Earth Elements (REE) are vitamins of modern industry and high-end technology, with a typical concentration of 130 ppm to 240 ppm in the Earth's crust. In India, beach placer monazite is primarily used for REE extraction. This proposal aims to fill this gap by conducting major and trace element compositional studies on heavy minerals, including monazite, separated from beach and dune sediments from Bhimunipatnam to Kalingapatnam Coast, SE India, to delineate source rock provenances and explore their potential as REE carriers. |
Organizations involved