Rare earth elements in sedimentary phosphate deposits: Solution to the global REE crisis?

Emsbo, Poul; McLaughlin, Patrick I.; Breit, George N.; Bray, Edward A. du; Koenig, Alan E.

doi:10.1016/j.gr.2014.10.008

Cited by 253 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Phosphate rock contains considerable amounts of uranium and REEs [52,61]. Phosphate rock can be developed using the wet-acid or the thermal route.…”

Section: Phosphate Rockmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing

et al. 2018

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A number of primary ores such as phosphate rock, gold-, copper-and rare earth ores contain considerable amounts of accompanying uranium and other critical materials. Energy neutral mineral processing is the extraction of unconventional uranium during primary ore processing to use it, after enrichment and fuel production, to generate greenhouse gas lean energy in a nuclear reactor. Energy neutrality is reached if the energy produced from the extracted uranium is equal to or larger than the energy required for primary ore processing, uranium extraction, -conversion, -enrichment and -fuel production. This work discusses the sustainability of energy neutral mineral processing and provides an overview of the current progress of a multinational research project on that topic conducted under the umbrella of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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“…Phosphate rock contains considerable amounts of uranium and REEs [52,61]. Phosphate rock can be developed using the wet-acid or the thermal route.…”

Section: Phosphate Rockmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing

et al. 2018

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“…The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studied the Permian Phosphoria Formation and related rock units in the Western U.S. Phosphate Field in southeast Idaho, southwest Wyoming, and southwest Montana ( Figure 10) throughout much of the twentieth century [20][21][22][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77]. The deposit has been a major phosphate resource for agricultural fertilizer [70].…”

Section: Ree Analyses Of Permian Phosphoria Formation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…associated with the occurrence, development, and societal use of phosphate [71,72]. A recent study has shown that phosphorite deposits including the Phosphoria Formation are enriched in REE that would be easily recoverable as a byproduct of phosphate production [75]. The REE occur in the francolite (Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F) portion of the Phosphoria phosphorite rock, a carbonate-rich fluorapatite, which is beneficiated or physically concentrated and dissolved in sulfuric acid to produce fertilizer [76].…”

Section: Ree Analyses Of Permian Phosphoria Formation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The REE occur in the francolite (Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F) portion of the Phosphoria phosphorite rock, a carbonate-rich fluorapatite, which is beneficiated or physically concentrated and dissolved in sulfuric acid to produce fertilizer [76]. In the study, dilute H 2 SO 4 and HCl, extracted nearly 100% of the total REE content of the phosphorite samples in leaching experiments [75]. give the approximate location of the sample sites for which samples have been analyzed for major-element oxides and trace elements in previous studies [66,67,69,70,74,75,77].…”

Section: Ree Analyses Of Permian Phosphoria Formation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the study, dilute H 2 SO 4 and HCl, extracted nearly 100% of the total REE content of the phosphorite samples in leaching experiments [75]. give the approximate location of the sample sites for which samples have been analyzed for major-element oxides and trace elements in previous studies [66,67,69,70,74,75,77]. Red filled squares are sites that had samples with greater than 100 ppm concentration of Tl.…”

Section: Ree Analyses Of Permian Phosphoria Formation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Possible Involvement of Permian Phosphoria Formation Oil as a Source of REE and Other Metals Associated with Complex U-V Mineralization in the Northern Bighorn Basin?

Moore-Nall

Tsosie

2017

Minerals

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Abstract:The origin of V, U, REE and other metals in the Permian Phosphoria Formation have been speculated and studied by numerous scientists. The exceptionally high concentrations of metals have been interpreted to reflect fundamental transitions from anoxic to oxic marine conditions. Much of the oil in the Bighorn Basin, is sourced by the Phosphoria Formation. Two of the top 10 producing oil fields in Wyoming are located approximately 50 km west of two abandoned U-V mining districts in the northern portion of the basin. These fields produce from basin margin anticlinal structures from Mississippian age reservoir rock. Samples collected from abandoned U-V mines and prospects hosted in Mississippian aged paleokarst in Montana and Wyoming have hydrocarbon residue present and contain anomalous high concentrations of many metals that are found in similar concentrations in the Phosphoria Formation. As, Hg, Mo, Pb, Tl, U, V and Zn, often metals of environmental concern occur in high concentrations in Phosphoria Formation samples and had values ranging from 30-1295 ppm As, 0.179-12.8 ppm Hg, 2-791 ppm Mo, <2-146 ppm Pb, 10-490 ppm Tl, 907-86,800 ppm U, 1240-18,900 ppm V, and 7-2230 ppm Zn, in mineralized samples from this study. The REE plus Y composition of Madison Limestone-and limestone breccia hosted-bitumen reflect similar patterns to both mineralized samples from this study and to U.S. Geological Survey rock samples from studies of the Phosphoria Formation. Geochemical, mineralogical and field data were used to investigate past theories for mineralization of these deposits to determine if U present in home wells and Hg content of fish from rivers on the proximal Crow Indian Reservation may have been derived from these deposits or related to their mode of mineralization.

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Orbitally paced phosphogenesis in Mediterranean shallow marine carbonates during the middle Miocene Monterey event

Auer

Hauzenberger

Reuter

et al. 2016

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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During the Oligo‐Miocene, major phases of phosphogenesis occurred in the Earth's oceans. However, most phosphate deposits represent condensed or allochthonous hemipelagic deposits, formed by complex physical and chemical enrichment processes, limiting their applicability for the study regarding the temporal pacing of Miocene phosphogenesis. The Oligo‐Miocene Decontra section located on the Maiella Platform (central Apennines, Italy) is a widely continuous carbonate succession deposited in a mostly middle to outer neritic setting. Of particular interest are the well‐winnowed grain to packstones of the middle Miocene Bryozoan Limestone, where occurrences of authigenic phosphate grains coincide with the prominent carbon isotope excursion of the Monterey event. This unique setting allows the analysis of orbital forcing on phosphogenesis, within a bio, chemo, and cyclostratigraphically constrained age‐model. LA‐ICP‐MS analyses revealed a significant enrichment of uranium in the studied authigenic phosphates compared to the surrounding carbonates, allowing natural gamma‐radiation (GR) to be used as a qualitative proxy for autochthonous phosphate content. Time series analyses indicate a strong 405 kyr eccentricity forcing of GR in the Bryozoan Limestone. These results link maxima in the GR record and thus phosphate content to orbitally paced increases in the burial of organic carbon, particularly during the carbon isotope maxima of the Monterey event. Thus, phosphogenesis during the middle Miocene in the Mediterranean was controlled by the 405 kyr eccentricity and its influence on large‐scale paleoproductivity patterns. Rare earth element data were used as a tool to reconstruct the formation conditions of the investigated phosphates, indicating generally oxic formation conditions, which are consistent with microbially mediated phosphogenesis.

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Rare earth elements in sedimentary phosphate deposits: Solution to the global REE crisis?

Cited by 253 publications

References 44 publications

On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing

On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing

Possible Involvement of Permian Phosphoria Formation Oil as a Source of REE and Other Metals Associated with Complex U-V Mineralization in the Northern Bighorn Basin?

Orbitally paced phosphogenesis in Mediterranean shallow marine carbonates during the middle Miocene Monterey event

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