Rare-Earth Elements in the Cretaceous to Eocene Age Bauxite-Kaolin Ores, Upper Coastal Plain, Georgia

Reliable domestic sources of rare earth elements (REE) must be found, given our usage of the REE in three major sectors: clean energy, lifestyle, and military defense, and our dependence on international sources for much of our REE. New resources of the rare earth elements (REE: Sc, Y, and La-Lu) have been identified by exploring highly weathered sedimentary rocks in the Georgia Coastal Plain. This study examined the occurrences of the REE at a Cretaceous bauxite-kaolin core hosted within sand-dominated strata in Wilkinson County, GA. The core was divided into 2ft intervals, separated into different-size fractions, and studied geochemically and mineralogically. The REE distribution was influenced by in situ weathering and transport processes. REE were found as sorbed species on mineral surfaces in the upper kaolin layer. REE were found in monazite and xenotime in the bauxite layer, and in zircon in the lower kaolin layer.