Author: H. Sosidi, K. Khairuddin, R. Ruslan, N. Noprianti, M. F. Rizki, M. Mahfud, B. Sardi, and M. A. Muttaqii

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31788/RJC.2026.1919488

Research was carried out on the separation of the rare earth element Ytterbium (Yb) from Poboya gold miningtailings using the precipitation method with Na2HPO4. Rare Earth Elements (REE) are elements that occur inminimal quantities in nature and are typically found as trace minerals, including carbonates, phosphates, and halides. This research aims to isolate and quantify the concentration of Ytterbium in the soils and tailings of the Poboya goldmining area through precipitation using disodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4) as a reagent. An initial SEM- EDAX analysis was conducted for preliminary characterisation to ascertain the composition and morphology of thepredominant samples. The concentration of Ytterbium that was successfully separated from its carrier mineral wasmeasured using ICP-MS, namely, for sample A2 it was 0,0973 mg/kg and for sample B2 it was 1,6616 mg/kg.

Keywords: Tailings, Rare Earth Elements, Ytterbium, Destruction, Deposition.