Reflectance Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements Solutions Based on Rare Earth Ore Powder in South Jiangxi Province

Ion-absorbed rare earth ores located mainly in southern China are important rare earth resources. However, little research has been conducted on its spectral reflectance characteristics. In this paper, twenty-five aqueous samples containing various amounts of rare earth elements (REE) were made up by the rare earth ore powder of Xunwu in south Jiangxi, and the reflectance spectra were obtained by the measurement of Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) FieldSpec-3 spectroradiometer. Peaks at 574 nm, 790 nm, 736 nm, 520 nm, 861 nm, 443 nm and several subordinate absorption peaks at 470 nm, 484 nm, 512 nm, 627 nm, 675 nm, 732 nm, 800 nm caused by REE in visible and near-infrared bands were detected. Through the comparison of spectral characteristics of fifteen REE single elements, it is shown that the absorption bands correspond to one or several REE elements. In addition, the absorption intensities become weaker and weaker with the decease of the concentration of REE in the twenty-five samples. These absorption features hence can be applied as a factor to estimate the concentrations of REE. The studies have enhanced our understanding of reflectance characteristics of ion-absorbed REE in southern China and strengthened the theoretical basis for hyperspectral study of this kind of REE ores.