Geochemical controls on the release of rare earth elements from nechalacho tailings

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Expertise from Queen's University and Avalon Rare Metal Ltd. will be combined to investigate whether rare earth elements (REE) are released to surface water from the finely ground tailings to be produced from a proposed new mine near Yellowknife, NWT. Field and laboratory experiments will be conducted to determine the influence of seasonal changes in water chemistry on REE mobility. Ultrafiltration, synchrotron analysis and speciation modeling will be used distinguish between fine colloidal particles that contain REE, aqueous complexes with REE, and simple dissolved ionic forms of REE. Only the latter is considered bioavailable to aquatic life. The research program will involve 1 MSc student, 1 BSc and 1 PDF who will interact closely with Avalon staff and their consultants who are designing the flotation plant and the tailings management facility. The benefits to Canada of this research are that it will fill a critical information gap relevant to our ability to participate in the rapidly emerging economic sector of REE extraction while maintaining environmental protection of Northern aquatic ecosystems. The benefits to Avalon include improved control and closure plans, and eliminating loss of REE to fine tailings.