REE IN COAL

special reference –
Indonesia Coal

Rita Susilawati
GEOLOGICAL AGENCY OF INDONESIA
OUTLINE

What are REE

Why REE in coal

How they were formed

REE in Indonesia coal

Knowledge is power
knowledge shared is power multiplied
(Robert Noyce)

Knowledge share = knowledge2

“We are precious to you”
What are REE
“We are precious to you”
World known REE reserves – REE prices
REE Classification

▪ Geochemical Classification (Bau, 1996;

Seredin, 2010):
▪ Light REY (LREY – La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm).
▪ Medium REY (MREY – Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy,
Y),
▪ Heavy REY (HREY – Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu).

▪ Industrial Classification (Dudley Kingsnorth

(IMCOA), 2009), Related with the supply-
demand of REY:
▪ Critical (Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Y, Er).
▪ Uncritical (La, Pr, Sm, Gd).
▪ Excessive (Ce, Ho, Tm, Yb, Lu).
 Coal and metal - “Metalliferous coal”

Critical-element-bearing minerals in coal. (A), coffinite in the Yili U-rich

coals; (B), pitchblende in the Yili U-rich coals; (C), Ge in the Ge-rich fly ash
derived from Wulantuga ore deposit (Dai et all, 2016d)

• Represent coals with practical or potential economic significance for valuable metal
production (Hower et al., 2000; Meitov, 2001; Seredin and Finkelman, 2008; Dai et
al., 2012; Mastalerz and Drobniak, 2012; Sia and Abdullah, 2012)
• Coal that has high concentrations of rare metals (Ge, Ga, REE, Li, Sc, Zr, Hf, Nb, and
Ta (Seredin, 2012a; Seredin et al., 2013; Arbuzov et al., 2014) – currently attractive.
• Ge-bearing coal deposits from Lincang (Yunnan province of China),Wulantuga
(Inner Mongolia of China), and Spetzugli (Primorye, Russian Far East) – account 50%
of world industrial Ge production
 Why REE in coal

REE in conventional High demand of REE Coal as one of a main

resources (e.g. for modern life and source of energy
carbonates, alkaline equipment's producing significant
granites and weathering coal combustion product
crusts) exhausted – REE (CCPs)
crisis

Coal and coal by

products contain REE
with concentration REE in CCPs much higher
comparable to economic than in raw coal – REE
conventional deposit recovery from CCPs is
highly potential

(Arbuzov et al., 2000; Anggra et al., 2018; Dai et al., 2007, 2008, 2011b; Dai and Finkelman, 2017; Hower et
al., 1999; Mardon and Hower, 2004; Nifantov, 2003; Seredin, 2004; Seredin et al., 2006b).
Why REE in coal

https://www.netl.doe.gov/coal/rare-earth-elements/

The possible recovery of critical elements

from coal and its CCPs is an exciting research
area – turn “dirty coal” into a REE source of
“clean” energy
Why REE in coal
World REE-rich coal ashes vs REE Proposed classification of REE rich coal
of selected conventional types ashes (Coutl vs total REE oxides)
(Seredin and Dai, 2017) (Seredin and Dai, 2017)

1-REE-rich coal ashes; 2- carbonatite deposits; 3-hydrothermal deposits; 4- weathered crust elution
deposited (ion-adsorbed) deposits.

REE(def, rel) : the percentage of critical elements (Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Y, and Er) in the total REE
Coutl : the outlook coefficient which is the ratio of the relative amount of critical REE metals in the REE
sum to the relative amount of excessive REE (Ce, Ho, Tm, Yb, and Lu).
Countries that have notable REE resources

Indonesia??

https://www.ausimmbulletin.com/feature/an-outlook-on-the-rare-
earth-elements-mining-industry/
General situation of utilization for valuable elements in coal
(Dai and Finkelman, 2017)

alaboratory scale for further development towards pilot scale.

bhighly-elevated concentration elements in coal and coal ash comparable to/even higher than in
conventional ores, but the extraction technologies have not been studied.
C concentration elements in coal/coal ash not comparable to conventional ores – not economic
 How REE formed in Coal

Genetic types of REE accumulation in coal (Seredin and Chekryzhov, 2011) :

1. Terrigenous type, with REE input by surface waters;
2. Tuffaceous type, connected with falling and leaching of acid and alkaline
volcanic ash;
3. Infiltration or meteoric ground water driven type, which is well-known in
the field of uranium geology, and
4. Hydrothermal type, connected with ascending flows of thermal mineral
water and deep fluids.

Dai and Finkelman, 2017

REE IN INDONESIA COAL
Research start 2017 – UGM pioneering
GA involving - 2018
REE in Indonesia Coal – Case Study South Sumatra

1. Field sampling (3 locations in SSB) – total 36 samples

2. Lab analysis (trace element/ree in Canada)
 RESULT – MTS/TA/LAHAT

Tufaceous type, HREY dominant Total REE up to 200ppm

Critical elements> excessive Some samples are in promising area

Elements, promising (following world cut of grade of REO)

Promising
 Banko Coal (Anggara et al, 2018)

type L (LaN/LuN > 1), type M (LaN/SmN < 1, GdN/LuN >

1), type H (LaN/LuN < 1)

HREE dominant
Opportunity and challenges
✓ Coal is a primary energy source of
Indonesia (coal based PP account
>50% of total PP, produced
significant amount of CCP-fly ash)
✓ Indonesia coal contain REE – (up to
200ppm in raw coal-possible
1000ppm in CCP), thus there exists
an opportunity to extract REE from
Indonesia coal/CCP
✓ Extraction of REE from Indonesia
CCP could not only supply REE
demand but also help to convert
CCP from a dangerous waste into a
resource.
✓ Challenges exist related to recovery
and separation of REE from coal.
Unlocking Indonesia coal potential for REE
recovery
Key point to be addressed
✓ Prospecting - Resource characterization (Sampling, Analysis, and Characterization
of REE Constituents and Concentration, Structures, and Reserves)
✓ Processing – Finding economic extraction technologies (separation and recovery;
environmental management and lifecycle)
✓ Production – Generating market ready REE

Strategy
Conduct collaborative research to better understand the form and structure of REEs
in coal and coal by products which can support the design of alternative separation
technologies.

Currently on going
GA-UGM collaborative research for increasing value added coal including
investigating the REE potential of Indonesia coal and its value chain.

Plan to be done
Expand collaborative research involving industry and more research institutions
(integrating research from upstream to downstream)
Learn from others

USA REE program

Closing