ABSTRACT
There are abundant rare-earth resources of medium and heavy types in Guangdong and Jiangxi, and especially, rare-earth deposits having ion adsorption properties is one of the distinct characteristics of the mineral resources in South China. In recent years, with the extensive use of rare-earths, domestic and international demand has increased, and with the economic development of mountain areas to eliminate poverty, rare-earth mining is developing rapidly. However, this has led to a series of ecoenvironmental problems, such as forest destruction, soil and water loss, and environmental pollution. At present, there are a few reports on the environmental impact of rare-earth mining and possible ecological remediation measures and their effects on corresponding soil properties (Bradshaw 1990; Guo et al., 1990). This chapter, taking the rare-earth mining in Pingyuan County of Guangdong Province as an example and from the aspect of sustainable resources utilization, investigates and analyzes the impact of rare-earth mining on the environment, evaluates the existing effect of ecological remediation measures on soils, and finally, suggests some alternative vegetation recovery measures.
