Abstract
Neodymium is one of the most sought-after rare earth elements (REE), as it is an essential component in permanent magnets used in wind turbines and electric motors that are needed to address the issue of climate change. In nature, the enrichment of Nd and other REE is frequently attributed to their transport and deposition by hydrothermal fluids. Although numerous studies have investigated the complexation of Nd with chloride, sulfate, and fluoride in hydrothermal fluids, a major knowledge gap is its behavior in carbonate-bearing fluids at elevated temperatures, which hinders our ability to predict the mobility of Nd in ore-forming hydrothermal systems. In this contribution, we evaluate the speciation of Nd in carbonate-bearing fluids under acidic (pHT 2–4) and alkaline (pHT 7.8–9.8) conditions using the autoclave solubility method at temperatures between 175 and 250 °C with synthetic Nd-hydroxylbastnäsite as the reference phase. We demonstrate that the predominant aqueous complexes are NdCO3+ and NdCO3OH0 under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. Our findings predict that carbonate species have the potential to be capable ligands for REE mobilization in hydrothermal fluids.
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