Pore size distribution characteristics of undisturbed and re-molded soil of ion-adsorption rare earth ore

To obtain pore size distribution characteristics of undisturbed and remolded soil of ion-adsorption rare-earth ore, soil-water characteristic curve tests in field and lab were performed by applying tensiometer on a typical ion-adsorption rare-earth ore in Southern Jiangxi. The pore size distributions of undisturbed and re- moulded ore body were calculated on the basis of the fitting models of soil-water characteristic curve. The re- sults show that the specific surface area of undisturbed ore body is 1.313 m²/g, cumulative total pore volume of undisturbed ore body is 0.224 4 m³/g, specific surface area of remoulded ore body is 4.205 m²/g,cumulative to- tal pore volume of remoulded ore body is 0.236 5 m3/g. The process of remodeling has changed pore size distri- bution of undisturbed ore body and increased specific surface area of ore body about 3.2 times than before. However, the effective pore volume had no clear changes, which make remolded ore body possess better infil- tration effect and poor penetrability.