Pioneering research led by the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) could help geologists locate new concentrations of some the most valuable rare earth deposits.
A team of geologists, headed by Professor Frances Wall from the CSM and including the Australian National University, has discovered a new hypothesis to predict where neodymium and dysprosium could be found.
The elements are essential for digital and clean energy manufacturing, including magnets in large wind turbines and electric cars motors.
The British Geological Survey website states that recent work has highlighted neodymium (Nd) and the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) as being most at risk of supply disruption in the near future.
Scientists conducted experiments that showed sodium and potassium – rather than chlorine or fluorine as previously thought – were the key ingredients for making these rare earth elements soluble.
This determines whether they crystalise and so allowing them to be extracted or dissolve in fluids.
Professor Wall, leader of the SoS RARE project which has now ended, said: “This is an elegant solution that helps us understand better where ‘heavy’ rare earths like dysprosium and ‘light’ rare earths like neodymium may be concentrated in and around carbonatite intrusions.
“We were always looking for evidence of chloride-bearing solutions but failing to find it. These results give us new ideas.”
The results were published in Science Advances last Friday (9 October 2020).
The SoS RARE project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (UK Research and Innovation) as part of its Security of Supply of Minerals programme.