The peraluminous rhyolite that forms Round Top Mountain (approximately 375 m high × nearly 2 km in diameter), near Sierra Blanca, Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA, is enriched in yttrium and heavy rare earth elem...The peraluminous rhyolite that forms Round Top Mountain (approximately 375 m high × nearly 2 km in diameter), near Sierra Blanca, Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA, is enriched in yttrium and heavy rare earth elements (YHREEs), as well as Li, Be, U, Th, Sn, F, Rb, Cs, Nb, and Ta. Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (USA) proposes to release the YHREEs from their unique yttrofluorite host via heap leaching with dilute sulfuric acid. The inexpensive process also releases portions of valuable byproduct Be, Li, and U from accessory minerals amid the insoluble feldspars and quartz that comprise 90% - 95% of the surface-exposed rhyolite mountain. The objective of this study is to determine the consistency of mineralization grade, an important consideration in mine planning and preliminary economic analysis. The method is to plot elemental analyses of Y, Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb, U, and Nb from more than 1400 reverse circulation cuttings taken from 64 exploration drill holes against sample depth. The result of inspection of the plots reveals a remarkably homogeneous distribution of minor and trace elements throughout the sampled portion of the massive, 1.6-billion-tonne laccolith. The plots drive the conclusion that Round Top mine feedstock should remain constant for the life of the mine (multiple decades). Thus mining mechanics could be optimized at the start of operations and not require expensive later changes. The physical and chemical design of the heap leach and recovery and purification of target elements from pregnant leach solution also could be perfected during early development.展开更多
This present study focused on investigating the content and relative enrichment multiple of rare earth elements（REEs） in different terrain of weathered ore body, and the value of light rare earth elements/middle and...This present study focused on investigating the content and relative enrichment multiple of rare earth elements（REEs） in different terrain of weathered ore body, and the value of light rare earth elements/middle and heavy rare earth elements（LREEs/HREEs）, in order to understand the mobilization and redistribution of HREEs, Furthermore, the abrasion pH was investigated as well, The results show that the average contents of HREEs in the knap, ridge and col are 37.26, 61.71, and 271.3 μg/g, respectively. The value of LREEs/HREEs is decreased from 16.78 to 7.914 between knap and col and the relative enrichment multiple of HREEs is as follows： CCol-HREEs 〉 CRidge-HREEs 〉 0. It is indicated the HREEs is concentrated in the col and the enrichment degree of HREEs is stronger than the ridge and the knap. Rare earth elements fractionation is exhibited in the different terrain of weathered ore body. Based on this study, the finding that HREEs concentrate in the lower terrain of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ores, such as in the col, would become a marker or indicator to search for middle and heavy rare earth enriched zone.展开更多
Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA is a surface-exposed rhyolite intrusion enriched in Y and heavy rare earth elements （HREEs）, as well as Nb, Ta, Be, Li, F, Sn, Rb, Th, and U. The massive tonnag...Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA is a surface-exposed rhyolite intrusion enriched in Y and heavy rare earth elements （HREEs）, as well as Nb, Ta, Be, Li, F, Sn, Rb, Th, and U. The massive tonnage, estimated at well over 1 billion tons, of the deposit makes it a target for recovery of valuable yttrium and HREEs （YHREEs）, and possibly other scarce ele-ments. Because of the extremely fine grain size of the mineralized rhyolite matrix, it has not been clear which minerals host the YHREEs and in what proportions. REE-bearing minerals reported in the deposit included bastn？site-Ce, Y-bearing fluorite, xeno-time-Y, zircon, aeschynite-Ce, a Ca-Th-Pb fluoride, and possibly ancylite-La and cerianite-Ce. Extended X-ray absorption fine struc-ture （EXAFS） indicated that virtually all of the yttrium, a proxy for the HREEs, resided in a coordination in the fluorite-type crystal structure, rather than those in the structures of bastn？site-Ce and xenotime-Y. The YREE grade of the Round Top deposit was just over 0.05%, with 72%of this consisting of YHREEs. This grade was in the range of the South China ionic clay deposits that supply essentially all of the world’s YHREEs. Because the host Y-bearing fluorite is soluble in dilute sulfuric acid at room temperature, a heap leaching of the deposit appeared feasible, aided by the fact that 90%-95%of the rock consists of unreactive and insoluble feld-spars and quartz. The absence of overburden, remarkable consistency of mineralization grade throughout the massive rhyolite, prox-imity （a few km） to a US interstate highway, major rail systems and gas and electricity, temperate climate, and stable political location in the world’s largest economy all enhanced the potential economic appeal of Round Top.展开更多
文摘The peraluminous rhyolite that forms Round Top Mountain (approximately 375 m high × nearly 2 km in diameter), near Sierra Blanca, Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA, is enriched in yttrium and heavy rare earth elements (YHREEs), as well as Li, Be, U, Th, Sn, F, Rb, Cs, Nb, and Ta. Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (USA) proposes to release the YHREEs from their unique yttrofluorite host via heap leaching with dilute sulfuric acid. The inexpensive process also releases portions of valuable byproduct Be, Li, and U from accessory minerals amid the insoluble feldspars and quartz that comprise 90% - 95% of the surface-exposed rhyolite mountain. The objective of this study is to determine the consistency of mineralization grade, an important consideration in mine planning and preliminary economic analysis. The method is to plot elemental analyses of Y, Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb, U, and Nb from more than 1400 reverse circulation cuttings taken from 64 exploration drill holes against sample depth. The result of inspection of the plots reveals a remarkably homogeneous distribution of minor and trace elements throughout the sampled portion of the massive, 1.6-billion-tonne laccolith. The plots drive the conclusion that Round Top mine feedstock should remain constant for the life of the mine (multiple decades). Thus mining mechanics could be optimized at the start of operations and not require expensive later changes. The physical and chemical design of the heap leach and recovery and purification of target elements from pregnant leach solution also could be perfected during early development.
基金Project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(41472071,51734001)
文摘This present study focused on investigating the content and relative enrichment multiple of rare earth elements（REEs） in different terrain of weathered ore body, and the value of light rare earth elements/middle and heavy rare earth elements（LREEs/HREEs）, in order to understand the mobilization and redistribution of HREEs, Furthermore, the abrasion pH was investigated as well, The results show that the average contents of HREEs in the knap, ridge and col are 37.26, 61.71, and 271.3 μg/g, respectively. The value of LREEs/HREEs is decreased from 16.78 to 7.914 between knap and col and the relative enrichment multiple of HREEs is as follows： CCol-HREEs 〉 CRidge-HREEs 〉 0. It is indicated the HREEs is concentrated in the col and the enrichment degree of HREEs is stronger than the ridge and the knap. Rare earth elements fractionation is exhibited in the different terrain of weathered ore body. Based on this study, the finding that HREEs concentrate in the lower terrain of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ores, such as in the col, would become a marker or indicator to search for middle and heavy rare earth enriched zone.
基金Project supported by Research Contracts 26-8211-12 and 26-8211-16 between Texas Rare Earth Resources,Inc.and the University of Texas at El Paso
文摘Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County, west Texas, USA is a surface-exposed rhyolite intrusion enriched in Y and heavy rare earth elements （HREEs）, as well as Nb, Ta, Be, Li, F, Sn, Rb, Th, and U. The massive tonnage, estimated at well over 1 billion tons, of the deposit makes it a target for recovery of valuable yttrium and HREEs （YHREEs）, and possibly other scarce ele-ments. Because of the extremely fine grain size of the mineralized rhyolite matrix, it has not been clear which minerals host the YHREEs and in what proportions. REE-bearing minerals reported in the deposit included bastn？site-Ce, Y-bearing fluorite, xeno-time-Y, zircon, aeschynite-Ce, a Ca-Th-Pb fluoride, and possibly ancylite-La and cerianite-Ce. Extended X-ray absorption fine struc-ture （EXAFS） indicated that virtually all of the yttrium, a proxy for the HREEs, resided in a coordination in the fluorite-type crystal structure, rather than those in the structures of bastn？site-Ce and xenotime-Y. The YREE grade of the Round Top deposit was just over 0.05%, with 72%of this consisting of YHREEs. This grade was in the range of the South China ionic clay deposits that supply essentially all of the world’s YHREEs. Because the host Y-bearing fluorite is soluble in dilute sulfuric acid at room temperature, a heap leaching of the deposit appeared feasible, aided by the fact that 90%-95%of the rock consists of unreactive and insoluble feld-spars and quartz. The absence of overburden, remarkable consistency of mineralization grade throughout the massive rhyolite, prox-imity （a few km） to a US interstate highway, major rail systems and gas and electricity, temperate climate, and stable political location in the world’s largest economy all enhanced the potential economic appeal of Round Top.
