Browsing by Author "Abeysinghe, B"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Assessment of ni phytomining potential in Ginigalpelessa serpentinite deposit, southeast Sri Lanka
(IEEE, 2023-12-09) Dilshara, P; Senarath, S; Ratnayake, N; Abeysinghe, B; Premasiri, R; Dushyantha, N; Ratnayake, A; Batapola, N; Abeysooriya, R; Adikariwattage, V; Hemachandra, K
Nickel (Ni) phytomining is an emerging mining technique that uses hyperaccumulator plants to recover Ni from low-grade metal-rich soils such as serpentine. The Ginigalpelessa serpentinite deposit in Sri Lanka contains high concentrations of Ni, Cr, and Co where the phytomining potential is not well-documented. Therefore, the present study determines Ni, Cr, and Co contents in the soil and assesses the relationship between Ni content and plant diversity to identify potential areas for phytomining in the deposit. Thirty-one soil and twenty-five rock samples were collected from the deposit to analyze their metal contents. The abundant plant species were recorded at each location to analyze the plant diversity and species evenness using the Shannon Weiner Diversity Index. Based on soil analysis, Ni concentration in Ginigalpelessa serpentine soil ranged from 4,005 to 17,352 mg/kg which is within the range of global Ni phytomining grade (6,000 – 12,000 mg/kg). Moreover, areas having low diversity (0.0919 - 0.3061) showed high enrichment of Ni (7,000 - 12,000 mg/kg), emphasizing that low diversity areas with high Ni-enriched soils are suitable for in-situ Ni phytomining. However, further studies are required to assess the Ni hyperaccumulation ability of the abundant plant species to implement Ni phytomining in the Ginigalpelessa serpentinite deposit.
item: Article-Full-text
Exploration for rare earth elements (REES) in different geological formations of Sri Lanka and their recovery potential
(2022-09) Batapola, N; Ratnayake, N; Abeysinghe, B; Premasiri, R; Rohitha, S; Dushyantha, N; Ilankoon, S; Dissanayake, K; Dharmaratne, P
Rare earth elements (REEs) are widely attracting global attention due to their crucial role in the modern lifestyle, especially in the industrial advancement towards a green economy through renewable technologies. This particular group of metals consists of the 15 lanthanides, yttrium (Y), and scandium (Sc). There are two subgroups, namely light rare earth elements (LREEs) from lanthanum (La) to europium (Eu) and heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) from gadolinium (Gd) to lutetium (Lu) and Y (Fig. 1a). Generally, LREEs are more abundant in the mineral deposits when compared to more priced HREEs [1].
item: Article-Full-text
Geochemical exploration for prospecting new rare earth elements (REEs) sources
(2023) Dushyantha, N; Ratnayake, N; Premasiri, R; Batapola, N; Panagoda, H; Jayawardena, C; Chandrajith, R; Ilankoon, IMSK; Rohitha, S; Ratnayake, AS; Abeysinghe, B; Dissanayake, K; Dilshara, P
Rare earth elements (REEs) are globally considered as critical elements due to their indispensable applications in various high-tech industries. With the ever-increasing demand, identified primary REE resources will not be able to fulfil the global requirements and thus exploration and exploitation of secondary REE deposits are essential. This work is designed to prospect REE potential in lake sediments in the proximity of the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit (EPD) in Sri Lanka. In this context, surface and core sediment samples were collected from 2 upstream lakes and one downstream lake (connected to a man-made water canal, namely Jaya-Ganga) with respect to the EPD. In the downstream, the average total rare earth element (TREE), light REE (LREE) and heavy REE (HREE) concentrations of the surface sediments were 1011.3, 904.6 and 66.6 mg/kg, respectively. The corresponding average values in downstream core sediments were 858.7, 719.3 and 100.2 mg/kg, respectively. The results suggested that the downstream lake sediments contained a high TREE content with a significant LREE enrichment compared to the upstream lake sediments. The EPD was identified as the main REE source and Jaya-Ganga, which flows across the EPD, was the main transport medium in this study. Phosphate-bearing minerals, such as fluorapatite and hydroxylapatite, derived from the EPD act as the REE carriers where REEs substitute isomorphous in the mineral lattice. Since REE grade is relatively high compared to some of the reported secondary REE sources, the downstream lake sediments could be a potential secondary source for REEs for future exploitation.
item: Article-Full-text
Nickel phytomining potential in serpentine soil of Sri Lanka: an implication for sustainable mining
(2023-08) Dilshara, P; Abeysinghe, B; Premasiri, R; Ratnayake, N; Senarath, S; Ratnayake, A; Dushyantha, N; Batapola, N
The world is experiencing rapid growth of nickel (Ni) demand, especially for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, while high-grade Ni deposits are being depleted due to expanding economics, growing populations, and disorganized industrialization. Therefore, a major transformation from high-grade low-bulk ores to low-grade high-bulk ores is necessary to secure the future supply chain of Ni [1]. In this context, ultramafic soil is considered a low-grade high-bulk Ni ore, mostly found in tropical countries. However, conventional mining practices are high energy-consuming and generate a tremendous amount of waste, making it impracticable to recover Ni from ultramafic soil. Therefore, phytomining (or farming for metals) is identified as a viable and innovative method for Ni recovery from low-grade high-bulk sources such as ultramafic soil.
item: Conference-Full-text
Rare earth element enrichment in intrusive rocks of Sri Lanka as a potential low-grade source
(IEEE, 2022-07) Batapola, N; Ratnayake, R; Abeysinghe, B; Premasiri, R; Rohitha, S; Dushyantha, N; Illankoon, IMSK; Dissanayake, O; Dharmaratne, P; Rathnayake, M; Adhikariwatte, V; Hemachandra, K
Owing to the crucial role-playing in the decarbonization of the global economy, the demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is burgeoning while the supply is highly uncertain. This lack of secure supply coupled with high-grade resource depletion has led to increased explorations on potential low-grade resources of REEs. Thus, the present study focuses on the enrichment of REEs in intrusive rocks in Sri Lanka – a prospective low-grade REE resource. We analyzed fifty-five rock samples from a few granitic bodies (Massenna, Thonigala, Arangala), Eppawala Phosphate Deposit (EPD), and Ratthota pegmatite for their REE concentrations. Amongst the studied prospects, EPD (4185 mg/kg), Arangala granite (2183 mg/kg), and Massenna granite (937 mg/kg) had high REE concentrations with increased LREE enrichments over HREEs. However, EPD contains processable REE minerals (apatite and monazite), and REEs can be extracted as a by-product after developing the phosphate fertilizer production flow. Thus, EPD is the highest prospective of all the studied intrusive rocks of Sri Lanka. Compared to global occurrences, although it is low-grade (0. 48 wt% REO, 0.29 million tons REE reserve), such low-grade REE resources could become viable in the future due to the ever-increasing demand and the expected resource depletion of REEs.
item: Conference-Full-text
Rare earth element potential in the beach placers along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka
(IEEE, 2021-07) Batapola, N; Dushyantha, N; Ratnayake, N; Premasiri, R; Abeysinghe, B; Dissanayake, O; Rohitha, S; Ilankoon, I; Dharmaratne, P; Adhikariwatte, W; Rathnayake, M; Hemachandra, K
In the recent few years, rare earth elements (REEs) were considered as critical metals with strategic importance due to their high usage in modern technology and green energy applications. Currently, with the unexpected increase of rare earth element (REE) demand and China's market dominance, many REE processing projects are being launched or revived. In this regard, the present work is focused on assessing the REE potential in the beach placers along the southwest coastline in Sri Lanka. The collected 36 beach sand samples from the mean sea-level in the southwest coast during both southwestern and northeastern monsoons were subjected to both elemental and mineralogical analyses. Based on the findings, Galle, Ginthota, Wadduwa, and Thelwatta areas were found with significant contents of REEs ranging from 32.8-1,359.1 mg/kg. Moreover, the results suggest that REE-bearing heavy minerals are heavily concentrated in the beach face due to stronger oceanic currents generated by the strong winds of the southwestern monsoon along with the increased sediment supply by inland rivers. The findings in this study would provide insights for future REE prospecting studies, which is helpful in unraveling the hidden potential of REE resources in Sri Lankan beach placer deposits.