Name of the competition within which the program is being implemented: Competition for grant funding for research by young scientists under the Zhas Galym project for 2024-2064
Project manager: Agalieva Bakytgul Bolatkankyzy, PhD,
Identifiers:

• Scopus Author ID: 57212392529
• Researcher ID: AAB-4098-2021
• ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5127-6408

Research group

Project summary:

At present, the study of rare elements in natural waters is of great interest. In recent years, the mineral raw materials of large salt lakes have become the object of increased interest and intensive study as a source of cost-effective extraction of not only potassium, magnesium, soda, sodium sulfate, but also lithium, bromine, potassium, boron, and rare element compounds. A classic example is the salars of South America, the salt lakes of China and Mongolia, where the reserves of valuable components (lithium, boron, bromine, etc.) are estimated at hundreds or more thousand tons.

In his message to the people of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the need to develop "new oil", and one of the priority tasks should be the development of deposits of rare and rare earth metals. The head of state instructed the government to increase the area of ​​geological, geophysical, and geochemical exploration from the current one and a half million to at least 2 million 200 thousand square kilometers by 2026.

In Eastern Kazakhstan there is the Kalba-Narym rare metal belt, which is considered the most promising for further research. Rare chemical elements such as tin, tantalum, lithium are collected here, and there is also a unique strontium. All reserves of rare elements are calculated for the next 15-20 years, it is necessary to explore new deposits now, since, in the future, rare earth elements can become the second oil in Kazakhstan. Using new highly sensitive analysis methods, it is possible to study the distribution of rare elements in natural waters.

The use of lake water as a mineral raw material is due to several factors. Firstly, lakes contain large renewable reserves of deposits within large hydrogeological systems. This means that water can be extracted from lakes over a long period of time without fear of resource depletion. Secondly, the extraction and production of products from lake waters are environmentally friendly processes. Lakes are usually located in remote and unpopulated areas, which reduces the impact of human activity on water quality. Thirdly, the use of evaporative concentration allows the extraction of valuable components from lake waters. This process allows the production of concentrated products with a high content of useful elements. Finally, the production of products from lake waters has a low cost due to the integrated use of hydromineral raw materials. This means that the same water can be used to produce various products, which increases the efficiency of resource use. Thus, the study of rare elements in natural waters and the use of lake waters as mineral raw materials have great potential for scientific and industrial applications. At present, the assessment of the potential of water and lake objects is carried out without the use of methods used in GIS, which creates certain methodological difficulties in the preparation of official documents (passports for protected areas, etc.), due to the need to integrate a large amount of cartographic, geoecological and geological information into one project. In this regard, the project provides for the use of GIS systems, which are an effective means of creating high-precision cartographic and analytical materials used in the study of the geochemical distribution of rare elements in the natural waters of Eastern Kazakhstan.

Project objective:

The goal of the project is to study the chemical composition of lake waters to identify the mineralization of rare metals and to develop innovative criteria in the field of mineralogy and geochemistry for forecasting and searching for rare metal objects

The obtained research results will be published in journals from the first three quartiles of the impact factor in the Web of Science database or having a CiteScore percentile in the Scopus database of at least 50, in total at least 2 (two) articles will be published over the entire period of the work.

Socioeconomic effect. The research will lead to positive consequences for the restoration of mineral and raw material reserves in the region. Replenishment of reserves will lead to an improvement in the socio-economic situation in the field of ore mining, making it attractive for investment, stimulating production capabilities and promoting employment.

The potential applicability of scientific results is expressed in the allocation of promising areas for industrial exploitation and attracting investment.

The main users of the results will be enterprises in the mining sector of the economy, as well as investors interested in the extraction of natural resources

Expected and achieved results of the project:

These studies will provide a more complete understanding of the geochemical features of the migration and fractionation of rare earth elements in the region, as well as assess their potential for the development of new deposits of rare metals.