Scandium content in the ash of some coal seams in Western Siberia reaches 0.3–0.4% — more than 100 times the global average. This rare metal is used in aviation, space technology and energy.
Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University and the Far Eastern Geological Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences studied 626 samples from 65 sites. They suggest that scandium was released from ancient rocks through weathering and then carried by groundwater into coal seams.
Estimated resources of the metal in the Shaimsky District are put at 250,000 tonnes, while the potential of the entire basin may exceed one million tonnes. However, these are not yet commercial reserves: scientists still need to assess the cost and technologies for extracting scandium from deeply buried seams.
