CHARACTERIZATION OF INDONESIA RARE EARTH MINERALS AND THEIR POTENTIAL PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

摘要

Indonesia has many potential mineral resources including some rare earth elements (REE) minerals, such as monazite and xenotime. Their occurence is in association with tin ores (cassiterite). This paper reports some basic characteristics of mineralogy and chemical composition of the REE minerals associated with tin ores. The main REE minerals in such ores include monazite and xenotime, which contain small amounts of radioactive elements such as thorium (Th) and uranium (U). Potential methods of REE mineral beneficiation and extraction are discussed.