Rare Earth Element (Summary Of Stephen B. Castor and James B. Hedrick Paper From Geological Perspective)

Exploration :

Potential area of hard rock REE deposit mostly found in rock that older than Precambrian (underlain by Precambrian rock). In Placer deposit, REE deposit is associated with granitic rocks (some are Mesozoic - Phanerozoic) or high-grade metamorphic rocks (usually Precambrian), or both.

Technique that can be use:

1. Radiometric exploration technique. 
2. Geochemical prospecting using heavy mineral concentration of active stream sediments.
3. Multielement analytical techniques.
4. X-ray fluorescence or neutron activation analysis
5. Inductively coupled plasma (ICO) Spectroscopy.
6. Biochemical prospecting (Plant ash contain).
7. Surface exploration (trenching, pitting, and dredging).
8. Drilling that utilizing core sampling.
9. Absorption bands in the visible spectrum differentiation.
10. Geophysical methods of gravity surveys and airborne or magnetic surveys (sometimes using seismic surveys).


 Table 1. Known REE deposits
Location
Country
Discovered
REE
Mineral Container
Rock Association
Associate Mineral
Age of REE Mineralization
Deposit Type
Bayan Obo
Mongolia
1927
Rare earth oxide, LREE
Bastnasite, monazite
Iron ore, silicate ore, dolomite
Alkali rich alteration (fenitization), predominated  by sodic amphibole and potash feldspar
1600 Ma (Yuan et al. 1992) or 550 to 400 Ma (Chao et al. 1997)
Iron-LREE-niobium
The Pea Ridge
Missouri
?
LREE, HREE, unknown
Monazite, xenotime
Breccia pipes associated with 1.48-Ga granite and syenite
?
?
Iron
Mineville
New York
?
Rare earth oxide, unknown
Apatite
Gabro, Syenite
Magnetite (?)
?
Magnetite (Mill tailings)
Kiruna
Sweden
?
Rare earth oxide
Apatite, monazite
?
Magnetite, Hematite (?)
?
Magnetite and Hematite
Olympic Dam
South Australia
?
LREE/HREE (?)
Monazite, bastnasite
Breccia
Quartz, sericite, fluorite, barite, sulfide
Proterozoic (?)
Copper-uranium-silver-gold
Mountain Pass
California
1954
Rare earth oxide, LREE, HREE
Bastnasite
Granulie-grade gneiss, alkaline plutons, carbonatite and alkaline dikes, ultra potassic alkaline igneous rock.
Calcite or dolomite, basite, strontianite, talc, galena
1,4 Ga
Carbonatite
Powderhorn
Colorado
?
Rare earth oxide (?)
?
?
?
Cambrian (?)
Iron hill carbonatite
North Fork Area
Idaho-Montana Border
?
Rare earth oxide (?)
Monazite, allanite, ancylite
Carbonatite dyke
?
Phanerozoic (?)
Carbonatite
Oka
Quebec
?
REE (?)
Britholite
Carbonatite dyke
?
?
Carbonatite
St-Horore
Quebec
?
LREE, Rare earth oxide
Bastnasite, monazite
?
?
Late Proterozoic (?)
Carbonatite
Barreiro complex at Araxa
(Minais Gerais) Brazil
?
Rare earth oxide
Aeschynite (?)
Niobium ore
?
?
Carbonatite
Kangankunde Hill
Malawi
?
LREE (?)
Monazite-thorium free (almost), bastnasite, florencite-goyazite
Carbonatite dyke
?
?
Carbonatite
Wigu Hill
Tanzania
?
Rare earth oxide
Monazite, REE fluorocarbonate
Carbonatite dyke
?
?
Carbonatite
Palabora carbonatite
South Africa
?
Rare earth oxide
?
Potassic alkaline complex
Copper, apatite
Early Proterozoic (?)
Carbonatite
Kizilkaoren
Turkey
?
LREE
Bastnasite-fluorite-barite
Carbonatite dyke, pronolite, trachytes, alkaline pyroclastic rock
Fluorite, barite
?
Carbonatite
Longnan, Jiangxi
China
?
HREE, yttrium-rich
?
Clay (ionic absorption clay), alkaline igneous rock, carbonatite
Halloysite, kaolinite, quartz, feldspar
?
Laterites
Xunwu, Jiangxi
China
?
LREE, lanthanum-rich
?
Clay (ionic absorption clay) , alkaline igneous rock, carbonatite
Halloysite, kaolinite, quartz, feldspar
?
Laterites
Mount Weld
(Southern Western) Australia
?
LREE, HREE, yttrium
Churchite (HREE), phosphate and alumino-phosphate (LREE)
Carbonatite
Niobium, tantalum
20 Ga (Duncan and Willet, 1990)
Laterite
Yangibana
(Northern Western) Australia
?
Rare earth oxide
?
Carbonatite, alkaline rocks
?
?
Laterite
Araxa
Brazil
?
Rare earth oxide
Gorceixite, goyazite
Carbonatite
Phosphate mineral
?
Laterite (supergene)
Catalao I Complex
Brazil
?
Rare earth oxide
Gorceixite
Phosphatic
Secondary phosphate mineral
?
Laterite
Maicuru Complex, Para
(Northern) Brazil
?
?
Phosphatic
Carbonatite
?
?
Laterite
Cerro Impacto, Amazon
Venezuela
?
?
?
Carbonatite
?
?
Laterite
Serra negra
Minas Gerais
?
LREE, HREE, titania
Anatose
Deeply weathered carbonatite
?
?
Laterite
Mrima Hill
Kenya
?
?
Monazite
Carbonatite
?
?
Laterite
?
Montenegro
?
?
Hydroxylbastnasite
Karst, bauxite
?
Upper Jurassic (?)
Laterite
Eneabba
Australia
?
?
Monazite
Heavy mineral sands
Rutile-zircon-ilmenite
Late Tertiary - early pleistocene
Placer
Geographe Bay
Australia
?
?
Monazite
High grade metamorphic (Paleo sand)
Ilmenite-zircon
Pleistocene - recent
Placer
?
Southeast Asia (?)
?
?
Monazite, xenotime

Tin, zircon, titania
?
Placer
Green Cove Springs
Florida
1952 - (1994)
?
Monazite
Sands
Titania, zircon
Pleistocene
Placer
Carolina monazite belt
America
1885 - 1917 (?)
?
Monazite
Nonmarine sand
?
?
Placer
Cascade
Idaho
1950 (?)
?
Monazite
Gravel
?
?
Placer
Bear Valley
Idaho
?
?
Monazite, yttrium bearing-euxenite
?
Niobium, tantalum
?
Placer
?
Northern Idaho
?
?
Xenotime
Placer gold mining (?)
Gold
?
Placer
Blind River, ontario
Canada
1950 - 1970 (?) and 1986 - 1990
?
Monazite, uraninte, brannerite
Metamorphosed Conglomerate
?
Early proterozoic
Placer
Music Valley
(Southern) California
?
Rare earth oxide
Xenotime, monazite
Gneiss
?
Precambrian (?)
Placer
Bald Mountain
Wyoming
?
?
Monazite
Conglomerate
?
Cambrian (?)
Placer
Lovozero, Kola Peninsula
Russia
?
Rare earth oxide, titanium,
Eudilytic, loparite
Nepheline syenites, nephelinites, porphyritic rock
Nepheline, microcline, aegirine, arfvedsonite, hydrosodalite, natrolite, sodalite, urtites, feldspar-aegerine, juvite, malignite
Paleozoic (?)
Peralkaline
Pajarito Mountain
New Mexico
?
Rare earth oxide (?)
Eudialyte
Syenite intrusion
?
?
Peralkaline
Kipawa Lake
Ontario
?
Yttrium, zirconium
Eudialyte, mosandrite, britholite
Syenite
?
~Grenville orogeny (?)
Peralkaline
Strange Lake
Quebec-Labrador
?
Zirconium, yttrium, HREE
Gadolinite, bastnasite, kainosite
Granite
Niobium, beryllium, tantalum
?
Peralkaline
Bokan Mountain
Alaska
?
HREE, yttrium (?)
?
Granite-syenite
?
?
Peralkaline
Thor Lake
Canada
?
HREE, yttrium (?)
?
Granite-syenite
?
?
Peralkaline
Ilmasussaq
Greenland
?
Zirconium, yttrium
Eudialyte
Syenite
?
Proterozoic (?)
Peralkaline
Norra Karr
Sweden
?
Zirconium
Eudialyte
Syenite
?
Proterozoic (?)
Peralkaline
?
Saudi Arabia
?
Zirconium, yttrium, LREE, HREE (?)
?
Alkaline granite
?
?
Peralkaline
Brockman
Australia
?
Zirconium, yttrium
?
Metamorphosed rhyolite tuff (?)
Niobium, tantalum, conium
Proterozoic?
Peralkaline
Dubbo, New South Wales
Australia
?
Zirconium, yttrium, HREE
?
Altered intrusive trachyte (?)
Tantalum
Jurassic (?)
Peralkaline
Pocos De Caldas
Brazil
?
?
Eudialyte
Peralkaline syenite
?
Mesozoic - early tertiary (?)
Peralkaline
Khibina, Kola Peninsula
Russia
?
?
Eudialyte
Peralkaine syenite
?
Paleozoic (?)
Peralkaline
Maoniuping mine, Sichuan
China
?
?
Bastnasite,, chevkinite, xenotime, britholite, allanite, monazite
Quartz syenite, carbonatite dyke (?)
Barite, carbonate, calcite, quartz, fluorite, feldspars, aegerine-augite, sulfide
?
Vein
Weishan mine, Shangdong
China
?
?
Bastnasite,, chevkinite, xenotime, britholite, allanite, monazite, titanium
Quartz syenite, carbonatite dyke (?)
Barite, carbonate, calcite, quartz, fluorite, feldspars, aegerine-augite, sulfide, dolomite, amohiboles, thorite, niobium
?
Vein
Steenkampskraal
South Africa
?
LREE (?)
Monazite-apatite
Granite
Quartz, magnetite, sulfide
Proterozoic (?)
Vein
Crescent Park
Nevada
?
LREE (?)
Monazite-apatite
Granite
?
Precambrian (?)
Vein
Keronge, Burundi
East Africa
?
LREE, cerium
Bastnasite, monazite, cerianite, rhabdophane
Quarzite, schist
Quartz, barite
Precambrian (?)
Vein
Pilanesberg
South Africa
?
?
Britholite
Peralkaline complex
?
?
Vein
Lemhi Pass
Idaho-Montana
?
LREE
Thorium
?
Quartz
?
Vein
Diamond Creek
Idaho-Montana
?
LREE
Thorium
?
Quartz
?
Vein
The Snowbird
Montana
?
?
Parasite
?
Quartz, carbonate, fluorite
Cretaceous (?)
Vein
Hall Mountain, Port hill
Idaho
?
?
Thorite
?
Quartz, carbonate, fluorite
?
Vein
Bear Lodge
Wyoming
?
?
?
?
Trachyte, phonolite
Tertiary (?)
Vein
Nolan's Bore
Australia
?
Rare earth oxide
Apatite, cheralite
?
?
?
Vein-like
Tien Shan Range
Kyrgyzstan
?
Yttrium, HREE
Synchisite, bastnasite, monazite, xenotime
?
Molybdenum, silver, bismuth, zircon
?
?
Naboomspruit
South Africa
?
?
Monazite
?
?
?
Fluorspar
Gallinas Mountains
New Mexico
?
?
Bastnasite
?
?
?
Fluorspar
Athabasca Group, Alberta
Canada
?
HREE-uranium
Xenotime
Sandstone
?
Late Precambrian (?)
?
?
(Western) Australia
?
HREE, uranium
?
Quartzite
?
?
?
?
(Northern) Australia
?

allanite
pegmatite
?
?
Pegmatite
?
Vietman
?
LREE, HREE
?
Limestone (metasomatic)
?
Paleozoic (?)
?
?
Montana
?
Yttrium
?
?
?
Permian (?)
Marine Phosphorites

Idaho
?
yttrium
?
?
?
Permian (?)
Marine Phosphorites

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