Mineralogy, geochemistry and origin of karst bauxite deposits from the Reserva Fiscal Ávila, SW Dominican Republic
Domínguez-Carretero, Diego (Universitat de Barcelona)
Villanova-de-Benavent, Cristina (Universitat de Barcelona)
Torró, Lisard (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú)
Pujol-Solà, Núria (Universidad de Granada)
Bover-Arnal, Telm (Universitat de Barcelona)
Mestre, Àngel (Universitat de Barcelona)
Aiglsperger, Thomas (Luleå University of Technology (Suècia))
Ramírez, Australia (Servicio Geológico Nacional (República Dominicana))
Rodríguez, Jesús (Servicio Geológico Nacional (República Dominicana))
Espaillat, Julio (República Dominicana. Ministerio de Energía y Minas)
Proenza, Joaquín A. (Universitat de Barcelona)

Fecha:	2025
Resumen:	The energy transition, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and to slow down climate change, demands an ever-increasing supply of the so-called "critical metals". Rare-earth Elements and Yttrium (REY) are among the most critical metals, as they are indispensable in most technologies associated with the generation and storage of renewable energy. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the potential of karst bauxites as non-conventional sources of REY and other critical metals such as Sc and Ga. The Sierra de Bahoruco (SW Dominican Republic) contains the most REY-enriched karst bauxites globally. In view of the high potential for hosting important REY contents, the Dominican Republic government has declared the Reserva Fiscal Ávila (RFA), a state-owned area within the Sierra de Bahoruco for assessment and exploration of its REY resources. In this study, we present the first data on the mineralogy and composition of bauxitic rocks from the RFA. The bauxitic deposits comprise clayey bauxites and Fe-rich bauxites that are composed predominantly of Al-oxyhydroxides (gibbsite, boehmite and nordstrandite), kaolinite and Fe-oxyhydroxides. The bauxites are enriched in REY, with a median value of 1,310ppm and up to 2,542ppm, with a consistent enrichment in light REE (LREE) and Y compared to middle (MREE) and heavy REE (HREE). The positive correlation between the contents of REY and Th, and negative correlation with K, makes gamma-ray spectrometry an appropriate tool for the exploration. In addition, bauxitic rocks from the RFA contain significant Sc (up to 105ppm) and Ga (up to 54ppm) contents, and their extraction could potentially represent a substantial economic surplus to the revenue generated solely from the aluminum production.
Ayudas:	Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PID2019-105625RB-C21 Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades PID2023-147788OB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00239
Nota:	Altres ajuts: República Dominicana. Ministerio de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología projecte 2022-1A4-189
Derechos:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre i quan aquestes es distribueixin sota la mateixa llicència que regula l'obra original i es reconegui l'autoria.
Lengua:	Anglès
Documento:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Materia:	Karst bauxite ; Critical metals ; Rare-earth elements and yttrium (rey) ; Dominican republic ; Caribbean
Publicado en:	Geologica acta, Vol. 23 (2025) , p. 1-17 (Carbonate successions from Iberia and the Caribbean - Homage to Ramon Salas) , ISSN 1696-5728

Adreça original: https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/GEOACTA/article/view/47455
Adreça alternativa: https://raco.cat/index.php/GeologicaActa/article/view/10000000478
DOI: 10.1344/GeologicaActa2025.23.9

17 p, 20.2 MB

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