RT Journal Article
T1 Metal Mobility in Embryonic-to-Proto-Ni-Laterite Profiles from Non-Tropical Climates
A1 González Jiménez, José María
A1 Villanova de Benavent, Cristina
A1 Yesares Ortiz, María Dolores
A1 Marchesi, Claudio
A1 Cartwright, David
A1 Proenza Fernández, Joaquin Antonio
A1 Monasterio Guillot, Luis
A1 Gervilla, Fernando
AB We evaluated the mobility of a wide suite of economic metals (Ni, Co, REE, Sc, PGE) in Ni-laterites with different maturities, developed in the unconventional humid/hyper-humid Mediterranean climate. An embryonic Ni-laterite was identified at Los Reales in southern Spain, where a saprolite profile of ~1.5 m thick was formed at the expense of peridotites of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. In contrast, a more mature laterite was reported from Camán in south-central Chile, where the thicker (~7 m) weathering profile contains well-developed lower and upper oxide horizons. This comparative study reveals that both embryonic and mature laterites can form outside the typical (sub)-tropical climate conditions expected for lateritic soils, while demonstrating a similar chemical evolution in terms of major (MgO, Fe2O3, and Al2O3), minor (Ni, Mn, Co, Ti, Cr), and trace (REE, Y, Sc, PGE, Au) element concentrations. We show that, even in the earliest stages of laterization, the metal remobilization from primary minerals can already result in uneconomic concentration values.
PB MDPI
YR 2023
FD 2023-06-22
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/88200
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/88200
LA eng
NO Junta de Andalucía
DS Docta Complutense
RD 9 abr 2025