Measures to restore metallurgical mine wasteland using ecological restoration technologies: A case study at Longnan Rare Earth Mine

The ion-absorbed rare earth deposit occurred in the South of China is unique all over the world. Since the 1970s, rare earth in Longnan, South China has begun to be mined with leaching methods using oxalates and ammonium sulfate. Although this kind of methods is simple and economic, its presence in the environmental causes a growing environmental problems, especially changes in regional hydrochemical environment. In this paper typical ion-absorbed rare earth deposit——the Longnan rare earth mine, Jiangxi Provence, South China was selected as the study object, where the surface water and groundwater samples were collected. Analytic results show that the mining activities have affected the regional hydrochemical environment, which are expressed in the decreased pH（pH 3-4）, the enrichment of REE and heavy metal Pb in water with the maximum of 44760.1 μgL-1 and 1550 μgL-1 respectively, and the sulfate（214-1121 mgL-1）, ammonium（33.7-268 mgL-1） and nitrate ions（90-468 mgL-1） far beyond the background value. The impaction of the mining area surface hydrochemical environment is severest, then around the mining area, and the main rivers and groundwater in the study area have not been affected yet.

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Environmental problems and the ecological restoration of polluted land in ion-absorbed rare earth mine: A conceptual model

Legislation, Technology and Practice of Mine Land Reclamation ◽

10.1201/b17500-80 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 467-472

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Conceptual Model ◽

Ecological Restoration ◽

Environmental Problems ◽

Rare Earth Mine

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Endangered Butterflies and their Non-Native Host Plants: Examining Shifting Values of Belonging in Restoration

Case Studies in the Environment ◽

10.1525/cse.2019.002147 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Robert M. Anderson ◽

Amy M. Lambert

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration ◽

Native Species ◽

Puget Sound ◽

A Value ◽

The Social ◽

Remote Island ◽

Scientific Truth ◽

Native Host

The island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), thought to be extinct throughout the 20th century until re-discovered on a single remote island in Puget Sound in 1998, has become the focus of a concerted protection effort to prevent its extinction. However, efforts to “restore” island marble habitat conflict with efforts to “restore” the prairie ecosystem where it lives, because of the butterfly’s use of a non-native “weedy” host plant. Through a case study of the island marble project, we examine the practice of ecological restoration as the enactment of particular norms that define which species are understood to belong in the place being restored. We contextualize this case study within ongoing debates over the value of “native” species, indicative of deep-seated uncertainties and anxieties about the role of human intervention to alter or manage landscapes and ecosystems, in the time commonly described as the “Anthropocene.” We interpret the question of “what plants and animals belong in a particular place?” as not a question of scientific truth, but a value-laden construct of environmental management in practice, and we argue for deeper reflexivity on the part of environmental scientists and managers about the social values that inform ecological restoration.

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China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths

10.1093/oso/9780190670931.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sophia Kalantzakos

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earths ◽

Resource Competition ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

High Tech ◽

Trade Dispute ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Economic Statecraft ◽

The Rare Earth

In 2010, because of a geopolitical incident between China and Japan, seventeen elements of the periodic table known as rare earths became notorious overnight. An “unofficial” and temporary embargo of rare-earth shipments to Japan alerted the world to China’s near monopoly position on the production and export of these indispensable elements for high-tech, defense, and renewable energy sources. A few months before the geopolitical confrontation, China had chosen to substantially cut export quotas of rare earths. Both events sent shockwaves across the markets, and rare-earth prices skyrocketed, prompting reactions from industrial nations and industry itself. The rare-earth crisis is not a simple trade dispute, however. It also raises questions about China’s use of economic statecraft and the impacts of growing resource competition. A detailed and nuanced examination of the rare-earth crisis provides a significant and distinctive case study of resource competition and its spill-over geopolitical effects. It sheds light on the formulation, deployment, longevity, effectiveness, and, perhaps, shortsightedness of policy responses by other industrial nations, while also providing an example of how China might choose to employ instruments of economic statecraft in its rise to superpower status.

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Rare earth mine wastewater treatment via modified constructed rapid infiltration system: Nitrogen removal performance and microbial community

Process Safety and Environmental Protection ◽

10.1016/j.psep.2021.04.008 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 150 ◽

pp. 223-232

Author(s):

Jiacheng Sun ◽

Chengyuan Su ◽

Ying Xie ◽

Zhi Huang ◽

Jiayi Bao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Rare Earth ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Nitrogen Removal ◽

Mine Wastewater ◽

Rare Earth Mine

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Case Study and Analysis of Ecological Restoration Plan of Lakes in Coimbatore

IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1088/1757-899x/1006/1/012006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1006 ◽

pp. 012006

Author(s):

M Natarajan ◽

V Johnpaul ◽

R Sindhu ◽

K Jayalakshmi

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration

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Construction of a Landscape Ecological Network for a Large-Scale Energy and Chemical Industrial Base: A Case Study of Ningdong, China

Land ◽

10.3390/land10040344 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 344

Author(s):

Haochen Yu ◽

Jiu Huang ◽

Chuning Ji ◽

Zi’ao Li

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration ◽

Large Scale ◽

Ecological Environment ◽

Ecological Network ◽

High Importance ◽

Fractional Coverage ◽

Industrial Base ◽

Ecological Corridors ◽

Vegetation Fractional Coverage

A large-scale energy and chemical industry base is an important step in the promotion of the integrated and coordinated development of coal and its downstream coal-based industry. A number of large-scale energy and chemical industrial bases have been built in the Yellow River Basin that rely on its rich coal resources. However, the ecological environment is fragile in this region. Once the eco-environment is destroyed, the wildlife would lose its habitat. Therefore, this area has attracted wide attention regarding the development of the coal-based industry while also protecting the ecological environment. An ecological network could improve landscape connectivity and provide ideas for ecological restoration. This study took the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industrial Base as a case study. Morphological spatial pattern analysis was applied to extract core patches. The connectivity of the core patches was evaluated, and then the ecological source patches were recognized. The minimum cumulative resistance model, hydrologic analysis and circuit theory were used to simulate the ecological network. Then, ecological corridors and ecological nodes were classified. The results were as follows: (1) The vegetation fractional coverage has recently been significantly improved. The area of core patches was 22,433.30 ha. In addition, 18 patches were extracted as source patches, with a total area of 9455.88 ha; (2) Fifty-eight potential ecological corridors were simulated. In addition, it was difficult to form a natural ecological corridor because of the area’s great resistance. Moreover, the connectivity was poor between the east and west; (3) A total of 52 potential ecological nodes were simulated and classified. The high-importance nodes were concentrated in the western grassland and Gobi Desert. This analysis indicated that restoration would be conducive to the ecological landscape in this area. Furthermore, five nodes with high importance but low vegetation fractional coverage should be given priority in later construction. In summary, optimizing the ecological network to achieve ecological restoration was suggested in the study area. The severe eco-environmental challenges urgently need more appropriate policy guidance in the large energy and chemical bases. Thus, the ecological restoration and ecological network construction should be combined, the effectiveness of ecological restoration could be effectively achieved, and the cost could also be reduced.

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