Sizing Up the World’s Mega Copper-Gold Projects

Sizing Up the World’s Mega Copper-Gold Projects 

Published 6/28/2010

Wits Gold slides on cautionary notice

Wits Gold slides on cautionary notice

Wits Gold starts seismic survey at Deelkraal South

Wits Gold starts seismic survey at Deelkraal South

Why Uranium Mining Could Make Someone Rich

Why Uranium Mining Could Make Someone Rich 

Published 6/22/2010 
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Zimbabwe platinum poised for lift-off

Zimbabwe platinum poised for lift-off

[miningmx.com] -- ZIMBABWE’S emerging platinum sector appears to be on the verge of a boom, following Impala Platinum’s (Implats’) decision to invest $500m in the second phase expansion of its Ngezi mine.

At the same time, Anglo Platinum (AngloPlat) is pushing ahead with development of the Unki mine. Mining operations have started and ore is being stockpiled ahead of commissioning of the concentrator plant, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010.
The decision by Implats to go for the second phase expansion at Ngezi is hugely significant - yet Implats appears to have done its best to downplay the news.
The announcement was tucked away near the end of a third-quarter trading update, published by Implats on the JSE’s Stock Exchange News Service (Sens) on May 17.
As a result it was missed at the time by many observers, including Miningmx. It received minimal publicity, despite the fact that this will make Implats - which will plough in more than $1bn in total - by the far the largest investor in Zimbabwe.
The decision is controversial given the political, social and economic problems in the country and because Implats still does not have everything nailed down in terms of Zimbabwe’s indigenisation legislation.
This demands that 51% of all businesses in the country be placed in Zimbabwean hands, although there are a range of offset allowances - such as investment in infrastructure - which will reduce that equity requirement.
Implats reckons that its equity requirements should be in the 15% to 26% range, once the offsets it is claiming are allowed.
Implats said it was going ahead with the project “based on existing agreements with the government of Zimbabwe, and despite the fact that discussions are still ongoing on certain key issues”.
Implats added the $500m would be funded by “a combination of internally-generated cash resources and a bank loan. The funding arrangements have not yet been finalised and government project approvals are still outstanding.”
When Implats released its interim results in February, CEO David Brownsounded iffy on what would happen next concerning 87% held subsidiary Zimplats, which owns the Ngezi mine.
He said: “We have a wonderful opportunity where we would like to expand sooner rather than later - but we have to balance that outlook against the real fears of our shareholders so that all are comfortable with the decision on when to proceed.”
Asked why Implats was now going ahead, Brown told Miningmx: “We are working on the basis that we have agreements in place with the Zimbabwe government that will be honoured, and the outstanding issues can be resolved in terms of those agreements.
“Clearly, if the Zimbabwe government reneged on those agreements we would react accordingly but, in the absence of anything contrary, we are going ahead.”
Brown added that Implats will only start to spend large amounts on capital expenditure for the phase two expansion after August, when orders for major items like mills will have to be placed.
The great attraction of Zimbabwe to Implats is that it could, over time, expand its operations there to a production capacity of about 1 million ounces per year of platinum.
That would match existing production from its core Rustenburg mines, but at far lower operating costs. This is because the Zimplats operations are shallow and mechanised, compared with the deep-level, labour-intensive South African mines.
According to a platinum industry source, Implats has no option but to expand in Zimbabwe. The group faces severe restrictions on expansion in South Africa as well as the high capital and working costs involved in sinking more deep-level shafts at Rustenburg.
What’s more, the existing Zimbabwean operations at Zimplats and Mimosa –a 50/50 joint venture between Implats and Aquarius Platinum – have consistently remained among the best-performing divisions at Implats, despite the economic and social meltdown that has taken place in the country.
The main reasons for that lie in the nature of the assets, plus the well-educated workforce and excellent local management.
There are two other potential platinum mines that could be developed in the short term in Zimbabwe.
These are owned by heavyweight resource group Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) and unlisted Kameni. However, the precise status of these projects is not clear.
ENRC bought control of Central African Mining and Exploration (Camec) in late 2009, mainly for its copper and cobalt interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Camec also owned mineral rights that used to form part of AngloPlat’s Unki project. The company announced in September 2009 that it was about to be awarded a mining licence, and that it would start immediate construction of a platinum mine at a cost of about $250m.
But since ENRC took over Camec, the Zimbabwe platinum project has vanished from the radar screen. The ENRC 2009 preliminary results statement mentions it as one of a number of development prospects in the non-ferrous division.
An ENRC spokesperson said: “There is no significant update at this time.”
Kameni was launched in November 2008 by entrepreneur Loucas Pouroulis . It was supposed to be listed on the JSE by March 2010, and controls platinum projects in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Zimbabwe project – called Bougai – also used to be part of AngloPlat’s Unki project and is located right next to the ENRC ground.
Former Kameni CEO Stephen Gorven said in November 2008: “We’ve had a legal due diligence done on the validity of the claims, and our acquisition at Bougai is squeaky clean.”
But, again, little appears to be happening in terms of development of a mine there.
There is speculation in the market over a dispute between Kameni and ENRC about ownership of the rights which, it is alleged, overlap.
Pouroulis commented, "there’s no problem whatsoever between us and ENRC.
“We have been in consultations and discussions with the Zimbabwe government. We will soon announce a favourable outcome on the confirmation of our mineral rights.”

BHP Billiton in $3bn Liberian iron deal

Resources giant BHP Billiton has increased its drive for African iron ore, a move that will allow it to diversify its reliance on Australian mineral stores in the longer term.

The bulk of BHP Billiton's iron ore production comes out of Australia, where the resources industry is currently fighting a proposed 40% tax on resources "super profits".
At the weekend it was reported that BHP Billiton has signed a landmark mineral development agreement with the government of Liberia.
The agreement is expected to pave the way for new iron ore operations in Liberia's Nimba, Bong, Grand Bassa and Margibi counties.
According to independent newspaper the Liberian Observer, some details of the agreement released by the government put BHP Billiton's total investment portfolios in the country at about $3bn.
Negotiations reportedly took 18 months to conclude.
Super tax is greatest global risk
The Australian newspaper reported that BHP Billiton was planning to develop an iron ore hub in West Africa.
It said BHP Billiton planned to combine development of its Nimba iron ore deposit in Guinea, on the Liberian border, with that of the four Liberian deposits it has been excavating.
Nimba is expected to cost more than $2bn to develop.
"The company believes the area is home to some of the world's richest deposits of iron ore and says it has parallels to the 1960s start-up of Western Australia's famed Pilbara iron ore region," the newspaper reported.
While there has been no direct connection between the Liberian deal and Australia's new tax regime, BHP Billiton has said the tax would force it to prioritise global investment opportunities ahead of those in Australia.
Mining groups have viewed the proposed new tax as the greatest sovereign risk facing their companies globally.(Source:-Net Bridge | Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:04
[miningmx.com

Iridium

Iridium metal
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iridium-2.jpg

Iridium is found in nature as an uncombined element or in natural alloys; especially the iridium–osmium alloys, osmiridium (osmium rich), and iridiosmium (iridium rich).[9] In
the nickel and copper deposits the platinum group metals occur assulfides (i.e (Pt,Pd)S), tellurides (i.e. PtBiTe), antimonides (PdSb), and arsenides (i.e. PtAs2). In all of these compounds platinum is exchanged by a small amount of iridium and osmium. As with all of the platinum group metals, iridium can be found naturally in alloys with raw nickel or raw copper.


Iridium price: 12 months
Iridium charts on InfoMine.com


The demand for iridium surged from 2.5 tonnes in 2009 to 10.4 tonnes in 2010, mostly because of electronics-related applications that saw a rise from 0.2 to 6 tonnes. Iridium crucibles are commonly used for growing large high-quality single crystals, demand for which has increased sharply. This increase in iridium consumption is predicted to saturate due to accumulating stocks of crucibles, as happened earlier in the 2000s. Other major applications include spark plugs that consumed 0.78 tonnes of Ir in 2007, electrodes for the chloralkali process (1.1 t in 2007) and chemical catalysts (0.75 t in 2007).

DRC says it wants 35% state ownership of all future mines

DRC says it wants 35% state ownership of all future mines

A new proposed contract, written in may and awaiting government approval will serve the basis for negotiation
Author: Katrina Manson (Reuters)
Posted:  Monday , 14 Jun 2010 

KINSHASA (REUTERS) - 
The mines ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants the state to hold a 35 percent stake in all future mining joint ventures, in contrast to a wide range of shareholdings in existing ventures.
A new proposed contract, written in May and awaiting government approval, will serve as a basis for negotiation, said Valery Mukasa, interim chief of staff at the Ministry of Mines.
"The idea is that this will be the model for partners in future," Mukasa told Reuters in an interview at the weekend.
"We've put in the provisions we would like but all contracts will remain open to negotiation."
Mukasa said the proposed contract, drawn up with the input of civil society groups in the country, which has in the past been a major producer of copper, would not be applied retrospectively to joint ventures that have already been negotiated. The state's share in these tends to range from 12.5 percent to 40 percent.
After a protracted review of more than 60 contracts that began in 2007, several companies fell foul of the central African government's efforts to spur production and revenue, and state holdings were increased.
The final contract under discussion is that of the $2 billion Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine, in which state-owned mining company Gecamines has a 17.5 percent share and Freeport McMoRan (FCX.N: Quote) has a 57.75 percent.
Congo's mines minister Martin Kabwelulu has previously said the Gecamines share should be hiked to 45 percent.
The proposed contract also requires companies to pay a 1 percent signing-on bonus on the total value of the deposit determined in the feasibility study and for a 2.5 percent royalty on gross sales.
Other provisions include a deadline that stipulates companies must begin production within two years of establishing the mine site.
Companies must also adhere to the rules of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative -- a scheme for which Congo is still a candidate -- that requires companies to publish what they pay to the government.
All mining companies will still be subject to the mining code, a more general law dating back to 2002, which regulates business practices and taxes. Mining officials are reviewing this code but no completion date has yet been set.
(Editing by Daniel Magnowski and Alison Birrane)
© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved

Potash and Phosphates

Potash refers to potassium compounds and potassium-bearing materials, the most common being potassium chloride (KCl). Potassium is the third major plant and crop nutrient after nitrogen and phosphorus. Phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. 



Potash: 12 months
1 Year Potash Prices - Potash Price Chart

Phosphates: 12 months
Phosphates charts on InfoMine.com
Prices
Potash prices have soared in recent years. What was once a commodity worth about $200 a tonne is expected to reach $1,500 by 2020; Vancouver prices were US$872.50 per tonne in 2009, which was a record high.As of November 2011 potash prices have dropped to about $470 per metric tonne. Potash imports and exports are often reported in "K2O equivalent", although fertilizer never contains potassium oxide, per se, because potassium oxide is caustic and hygroscopic.

List of potash stocks with latest financial data


The world's largest consumers of potash are China, the United States, Brazil and India. Brazil imports 90% of the potash it needs.


Potash Corporation is the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity, producing the three primary crop nutrients – potash (K), phosphate (P) and nitrogen (N). As the world’s leading potash producer, they are responsible for about 20 percent of global capacity. It has operations and business interests in seven countries,

Production and resources of potash
(2010, in million tonnes)
CountryProductionReserves
 Canada9.54400
 Russia6.83300
 Belarus5.0750
 China3.0210
 Germany3.0150
 Israel2.140
 Jordan1.240
 United States0.9130
 Chile0.770
 Brazil0.4300
 United Kingdom0.422
 Spain0.420
Other countries50
World total339500
Source: USGS

Global potash demand to rise in 2013 - PotashCorp

According to PotashCorp CFO, Wayne Brownlee, global demand for the fertilizer is set to climb to between 56 million and 60 million tonnes in 2013
Author: Rod Nickel, Posted: Thursday , 06 Sep 2012, WINNIPEG, MANITOBA (REUTERS) -

Global demand for the soil nutrient potash, key for growing crops like corn, looks likely to climb to between 56 million and 60 million tonnes in 2013, depending largely on a potential sales rebound to India, the chief financial officer of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan said on Thursday. Global potash demand in 2012 looks likely to total around 53 million tonnes, CFO Wayne Brownlee said in an online question-and-answer session. "The question is, how robust is the Indian response going to be in 2013," he said. "That is going to be the key determinant, but given where grain prices are, food prices are, given the amazing incentive farmers have right now for making a profit in the next 12 months, it looks pretty good." India is the second-biggest potash buyer globally, but sales slumped this year after its government lowered subsidies for potash and phosphate, making those fertilizers more expensive for Indian farmers. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp is the world's biggest fertilizer maker. Grain prices have shot up this year due mainly to severe drought in the U.S. Midwest, offering farmers a chance to maximize profits by boosting plant yields through fertilizer. Canpotex Ltd, the marketing agency that sells Saskatchewan potash to offshore markets on behalf of Potash Corp, Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc , will hold discussions in the next week or two with Chinese buyers on a supply contract for the second half of 2012, Brownlee said. But Brownlee said he was not sure if they would agree on a contract in September. A new contract between Canpotex and Indian buyers is also expected in the second half, but Brownlee said India's politics make the situation difficult to predict. Most of Potash Corp's production comes from the Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan, which is home to an estimated 40 percent of global potash reserves. The Saskatchewan government depends on potash for hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties annually, and has said it may change its royalty formula to lean more heavily on production levels than it currently does. "We're not overly worried about that," Brownlee said. "There's not been an indication that there will be a revenue grab coming at us at all, and if anything it would be more of a finessing or fine-tuning ... to still get the investment but also perhaps generate a bit more stability for the government." Along with expansions by existing players, Germany's K+S AG and BHP Billiton Ltd have started work on new mines. Saskatchewan is concerned that too much new production will pressure potash prices, which may reduce its royalty take.
© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved

Potash and phosphates in Africa
The African continent is becoming one of the most important areas for the exploration soil nutrient minerals from phosphate to potash. Whereas the latter resource is being developed in the Horn of Africa region thanks to high quality discoveries at shallow depths on Eritrea and Ethiopia, phosphate mining is growing in West Africa. Morocco remains the world’s largest producer, but important sources are being developed in other parts of the continent as well including Senegal, Mali, Guinea Bissau and Angola. Angola is something of a special case as it has known phosphate resources with strong development potential as well as potash – though unlike the East African counterparts, the potash in Angola is richer in bishofite than sylvinite (the most typical ore for potash production in North America). The Horn of Africa is also rich in Sulfate of Potash (SOP), which is especially prized.


Rare Earth Elements

Bastnaesite - (Ce,La,Y)CO3F- ore from Mountain Pass Mine, California. 
Source: International Business Times - Reuters Photo / David Becker

 Rare Earth Elements News

Rare Earth Elements market basics





Rare-Earth Terminology – A Refresher on the Basics
BY GARETH HATCH
December 13, 2012 
I came across a couple of online articles this week, which make reference to some pretty basic terminology with respect to the rare earths. Unfortunately these articles got much of it wrong, propagating inaccuracies that are particularly egregious when they keep appearing within various natural-resource media channels. I’m therefore going to take a little time here to address some of the key errors that keep cropping up.
First, let’s tackle one of my pet peeves. The term ‘rare-earth mineral’ is NOT synonymous with the terms ‘rare-earth elements’ or ‘rare-earth metals’. The International Mineralogical Association defines a mineral as “an element or chemical compound that is normally crystalline and that has been formed as a result of geological processes” [1]. By this definition the element gold, for example, would be considered a mineral; however the rare earths are never found in elemental form and so in their case, the term ‘mineral’ is never synonymous with ‘element’.
Rare-earth elements (REEs) can be found in many different minerals. Only when the occurrence of such REEs is in significant quantities, or the chemical formula for a particular mineral requires the presence of one or more REEs, does the compound become a rare-earth (or rare-earth-bearing) mineral.
As for what constitutes a rare-earth element or metal; sticking with the definition formulated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) will generally keep you out of trouble. IUPAC defines the rare-earth metals as the 15 lanthanoid elements (with atomic numbers of 57 through to 71) in addition to scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) [2]. The lanthanoid promethium (Pm) is radioactive, with no stable isotopes; it is thus present in the Earth’s crust in vanishingly small quantities and does not occur with the other REEs. Sc exhibits some properties that are similar to other REEs, but is seldom found in the same minerals as them. It does not selectively combine with the common ore-forming anions and thus it is generally (though not exclusively) confined to trace occurrences [3].
REEs are difficult to separate from one another once they have been liberated from REE-bearing minerals. At the atomic level, the lanthanoid elements have a similar outer electronic structure, with this structure shielding the so-called 4f electrons within the atom. The presence and incremental filling of these electron orbitals are key characteristics of the lanthanoids. This unique structure leads to REE ions that are very similar in size to each other. It is this similarity in ionic radii across the group, not the adjacency of their atomic numbers, which gives rise to the similar chemical properties associated with each of the REEs. This makes them difficult to separate, even with the use of intensive processes such as solvent extraction (SX).
Now we come to one of the most contentious issues with respect to rare earths, namely the definitions used to describe the specific sub-groups of REEs known as light (LREE), medium (MREE) and heavy REEs (HREEs). I freely admit that in the past year or so, I have become less forgiving of the inconsistencies that we see in the industry with respect to the use of these terms. It’s time “we” got our act together on this. One of the articles that triggered my own piece today is particularly egregious in getting this whole topic wrong.
Let’s start with a differentiation with which all chemists and geologists would likely agree, even if the non-techies in the industry don’t, namely the separation of the REEs into two groups by virtue of electronic structure. On this basis alone, the LREEs would be those that have no paired 4f electrons, specifically lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), Pm, samarium (Sm), europium (Eu) and gadolinium (Gd). This leaves the HREEs as terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Th), ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu). Because the ionic radius of Y is very similar to that of the HREE Dy, Y is generally included as a HREE, despite not having any 4f electrons, paired or otherwise. In contrast, the ionic radius of Sc is much smaller than any of the other REEs and is therefore generally NOT classified as being either a LREE or HREE.
There are many in the industry that classify Eu and Gd as HREEs, but there really is no sound basis for doing so, unless you consider the inflation of a project’s HREE numbers as being a “sound basis”…
So now let’s turn our attention to the so-called MREEs. Of the relatively few sources in the industry that acknowledge the existence of this group, most of them get the composition of it wrong as well as its origin. The MREEs specifically refer to Sm, Eu and Gd, and the term arose from the metallurgists, process chemists and others who calculate and design the process flow sheets required to complete the separation of REEs from each other. This definition of the MREEs is the same one that the Chinese authorities use, by the way, when talking about the export quotas allocated to light rare earths, and to medium/heavy rare earths.
The MREE or SEG group as it is also known, arises within the early stages of SX, the main commercial process used to separate and to purify REEs, because of the absence of Pm from the feedstocks used. As we saw earlier, although Pm is a LREE, it does not occur with the other REEs, and so the process chemists take advantage of this “blip” in the sequence of REEs, caused by the resulting “gap” between Nd and Sm, during the separation process.
 The MREE group therefore arises for process engineering reasons only and does not require any new definitions, or changes to existing ones. The purists and certain laypeople can argue that these elements should strictly be defined as LREEs; such individuals should simply see the MREEs as a subset of the LREEs and worry themselves no more. I prefer to use all three terms – LREEs, MREEs and HREEs – and have been doing so exclusively for the past 18 months as I get more and more into the processing side of the rare-earth industry. Either way, you now know the origin of the term, and the three REEs to which it correctly refers. Either way, you also now know that Eu and Gd are really NOT HREEs.
Finally, the last term that I use quite a lot is critical REEs (CREEs), in reference to the five REEs that are of critical importance to future demand for sustainable energy sources – specifically Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy and Y.
As I always tell people – just make sure that you understand exactly which definitions a particular company is using, when looking at reported data which use one or more of the group names described above. In the meantime, let’s hope that certain of my fellow commentators on the rare-earth sector start to get the hang of the basic terminology for these materials…
References
1. E. H. Nickel, The Canadian Mineralogist, 1995, Vol. 33, pp. 689-690.
2. N. G. Connelly, T. Damhus, R. M. Hartshorn and A. T. Hutton, 2005, Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry: IUPAC Recommendations 2005, RSC Publishing, Cambridge, p. 366.
3. J. B. Hedrick, 2000, Minerals Yearbook: Volume I – Metals and Minerals, US Geological Survey, Reston, p62.1

Rare earth elements and their compounds have many uses but the quantities consumed are relatively small in comparison to other elements. About 15000 tonnes/year of the rare earths are consumed as catalysts and in the production of glasses. From the perspective of value, however, applications in phosphors and magnets are more important.



Rare Earth Oxides (REO) used as tracers to determine which parts of a watershed are eroding. Clockwise from top centre: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium.                        Source: United States Department of Agriculture

REE Handbook - The ultmate guide to Rare Earth Elements

The results are (almost) in for rare earth competitors

List of tech metals stocks with latest financial data


RankCountryWorld Mine Production, By Country (Metric tons of rare earth oxide equivalent)
1China125,000125000
2India2,7002700
3Brazil550550
4Malaysia380380
Year of Estimate: 2008
China sets up rare earth industry association (Resource Investing News, 19 April 2012) 
China recently announced that it has set up a rare earth association to speed up the unification of the diverse industry, which has drawn criticism from what many overseas trade partners are calling unfair export quotas.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the association will consist of 155 members across the country, and will report to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which is currently responsible for regulating rare earth production.
“Shake up the industry”
Su Bo, an industry vice minister, announced that the move was made because Beijing wants to “shake up the industry” by phasing out smaller-scale smelters, giving large players a greater stake in the supply of rare earth metals and in turn boosting environmental protection.
“China will continue to clean up the rare earth industry, expand rare earth environmental controls, strengthen environmental checks, and implement stricter rare earth environmental policies,” said Bo.
Less than a month ago, the already tense US-China relationship took a new turn as the US, EU, and Japan moved in on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge China’s restrictive rare earth export policies.
Some speculators argue that China’s goal is to create the ultimate monopoly by driving up export costs to the point that technology manufacturers are forced to relocate their facilities to the People’s Republic.
It was also announced that Gan Yong, the President of the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, will be president of the new association. He claimed that the body will help to “form a reasonable price mechanism” at a time when China is being accused of deliberately forcing up prices by minimizing exports.
Molycorp updates resource estimate
Meanwhile, Molycorp Inc. (NYSE:MCP), one of the only non-Chinese producers of rare earth, has raised its estimates of reserves contained at its California mine.
According to a company press release, a new independent study has confirmed that its Mountain Pass mine contains 36 percent more probable or proven reserves than originally estimated. It now estimates reserves at 2.94 billion pounds of contained rare earth oxide equivalent, compared with a previous estimate of 2.24 billion pounds.
The updated analysis is influential in that it means that Molycorp’s total proven and probable reserves now add up to approximately eleven times the current global demand of 120,000 tonnes a year, most of which is supplied by Chinese producers. The company has stated that it expects output at the mine to reach its phase one annual rate target of 19,050 tonnes by the end of the third quarter of 2012.
From a market competitiveness perspective, the updated estimate comes at an ideal time for Molycorp as the miner’s closest competitor outside of China, Australia’s Lynas Corporation Ltd. (ASX:LYC), is facing numerous permitting delays at its processing facility in Malaysia.
Market price update
It has been an active week for rare earth prices as lanthanum/cerium mischmetal prices rose on the back of an improvement in downstream demand and a rise in raw material prices.
Market sources confirmed that prices for lanthanum/cerium mischmetal (La 35 percent, Ce 65 percent) moved up to trade around RMB85,000/tonne in comparison to RMB80,000/tonne a week ago.
An unnamed source at a Chinese-based producer was quoted in the media as saying that “[m]ore downstream consumers have been tending to buy mischmetal recently and sales for the material have been running.”
He added that an increase in lanthanum/cerium chloride prices has also contributed to the rise in lanthanum/cerium mischmetal prices. Prices for lanthanum/cerium chloride (La 35 percent, Ce 65 percent) are currently holding at RMB22,000/tonne, up from RMB18,000 to 20,000/tonne a week ago.
Dysprosium oxide prices saw no change last week, closing the trading at RMB4,300 to RMB4,600 per kilogram. Samarium prices also remained flat throughout last week at RMB270,000/tonne, while gadolinium maintained its pricing at RMB178,000 per metric tonne.
Junior mining news
Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. (TSXV:QRE) CEO Peter Dickie noted in an interview that based on an updated resource estimate, Quantum’s Elk Creek, Nebraska niobium project could cut US dependence on imports of the strategic material.
He also said that the project contains one of North America’s largest undeveloped niobium deposits in terms of grade and tonnage, and is the only primary niobium deposit under development in the US.
The updated estimate shows a resource containing over 129,000 tonnes of niobium (Nb2O5) in the indicated category, and over 524,000 tonnes of niobium (Nb2O5) in the inferred category, with the deposit open in three directions.
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSXV:GWG) announced that it is on track for its strategy of becoming a fully-integrated rare earth producer and processor.
The rare earth focused company has several operational targets this year, including the refurbishment of the mine shaft at the Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa and the completion of the NI 43-101 report for the mine by mid-May.
The company recently unveiled assay results from the first batch of samples taken as part of the phase one program at Steenkampskraal. Within the underground channel sampling results, assays ranged from 15.9 percent total rare earth oxide (TREO) to 40.12 percent TREO with an average of 23.75 percent TREO.
Drill core assays ranged from 0.18 percent TREO to 31.07 percent TREO, with an average grade of 13.83 percent TREO. Surface tailings results from the first batch of 54 assays ranged from 3.85 percent TREO to 12.01 percent TREO with an average of 7.27 percent TREO.
The remaining results from the phase one program will continue to be released over the next few weeks.

Dominating the World: China and the Rare Earth Industry

Rare Earth Prices

There is a significant variance in the relative market value for selected rare earth oxides. The price of rare earths also depends on the purity level, which is largely set by the specifications for each application.
In 2001, when rare earth prices fell to low levels, the major producers ceased publication of prices and have not resumed since then. The industry today, is reliant on the prices given by the Chinese Rare Earth Information Centre, Mineral Price Watch, Metal Pages and others.

Historical prices

The weighted average price of rare earths remained relatively stable throughout the mid 1990’s in the range of US$ 9-11/kg REO, falling to US$ 5-6/kg REO in 2001/02. The high demand for magnets and phosphors has lifted the estimated 2006 average price for rare earths to US$ 8-9/kg REO. An equivalent weighted average price for October 2007 rose to US$11.75/kg - US$12.50/kg REO.

In December 2009 the price remained unchanged for europium oxide (99%, bulk FOB China), at $490/kg. The price for lanthanum oxide (99% bulk FOB China) edged up to $5.80/kg from $5.20/kg.

The price for neodymium oxide (99% bulk, FOB China), a necessary component in new magnet technology and used in computer hard drives, currently stands at $19.5/kg compared to $30.5/kg in December 2007. In 2008 the price was $14.5/kg showing that there has been some recovery over the last couple of months. The price of praseodymium oxide (99%, bulk FOB China) stands at $19/kg, down from $28/kg two years ago, but up from $14.5/kg in December 2008. Rare earth mineral prices do not follow the same trajectory, but are driven by their individual end-use markets. Chinese domestic prices for cerium-oxide (CeO2>99%), widely used in glass, ceramics and catalyst manufacturing, which were around $1.76/kg in November 2007, have gained as much as 50% to $2.64/kg in December 2009. (Rare Earths waiting for rebound, Industrial Minerals Division of Metal Bulletin, 10 December 2009).


It has been predicted that by 2014, global demand for rare earths will reach 200,000 tonnes a year and that by 2015 China will be a net importer.

The Economic Geology of Rare Earth Deposits

The rare earths are a relatively abundant group of 17 elements composed of the lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium.

The elements range in crustal abundance from cerium, the 25th most abundant element of the 78 common elements in the Earth's crust, at an estimated 46 parts per million, to europium and erbium, the least abundant rare-earth elements, at about 0.5 and 0.4 parts per million respectively.

Rare earth elements (REE) are widely distributed in low concentrations (10 to 300 ppm) in shales, granites, alkaline rocks and carbonatites.


From the discovery of REE (during the period 1794–1907) through the mid-1950s, a few of the REE were produced in modest amounts from monazite-bearing placers and veins, from pegmatites and carbonatites (carbonatites are intrusive igneous rocks rich in carbonate minerals), and as minor by-products of uranium and niobium extraction. Monazite, the single most common REE mineral, generally contains elevated levels of thorium. Although thorium itself is only weakly radioactive, it is accompanied by highly radioactive intermediate daughter products, particularly radium, that can accumulate during processing. Concern about radioactivity hazards has now largely eliminated monazite as a significant source of REE and focused attention on those few deposits where the REE occur in other, low-Th minerals, particularly bastnaesite.

In 1949, a carbonatite intrusion with extraordinary contents of light REE (8 to 12% rare earth oxides) was discovered at Mountain Pass, in the upper Mojave Desert, California. The REE at Mountain Pass are hosted chiefly by bastnaesite, (Ce, La, Nd…) CO3F, and related minerals. By 1966, this single, world-class deposit (now owned and operated by Molycorp Minerals LLC) had become the paramount source of REE. Early development was supported largely by the sudden demand for europium created by the commercialization of colour television. Mountain Pass, with an average grade of 9.3% and reserves of 20 million metric tons (Mt) REO (at 5% cut-off), remains the only large ore deposit mined solely for its REE content.

Molycorp Mountain Pass rare earth pit in California's Mojave Desert

Chinese REE production comes chiefly from two sources.

The most important is the giant polymetallic Bayan Obo iron-niobium-REE deposit, Inner Mongolia. Bayan Obo is the world's largest known REE ore deposit and represents 70% of the world's REE resources. Ongoing statistics shows total reserves of 89 million tonnes of RE2O3 in China.
The principal REE minerals are bastnaesite [(Ce,La,Nd)(CO3)F] and monazite [(Ce,La,Nd)PO4], whereas magnetite and hematite are the dominant iron-ore minerals.
This deposit has geological affinities both to carbonatite REE deposits and to hydrothermal iron-oxide (Fe-Cu-Au-REE) deposits, such as Olympic Dam, Australia, and Kiruna, Sweden.
The ore body at Bayan Obo is mainly an iron resource with reserves of 1.46 billion tonnes Fe. The associated rare earths resource, which is produced as a by-product of the iron ore mining and mineral concentration operations, has been estimated at 57.4 million tonnes REO. Grades at Bayan Obo vary from 3% to 6% REO. The total reserves of niobium are estimated at 1 million metric tons with an average grade of 0.13 Nb wt%.

The location of the Bayan Obo deposit and its geological setting.

The second major source of Chinese REE is ion-adsorption ores in lateritic weathering crusts and clays developed on granitic and syenitic rocks in tropical southern China.
These oxide ores are advantageous in their relatively high proportions of heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and, especially, in the ease with which they can be mined and the REE extracted. (U. S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 087-02 - Rare Earth Elements—Critical Resources for High Technology: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs087-02/).

Ion-absorbed-type rare earth minerals found in China – the white, gray, red, yellow loose sand clay, called ion-absorbed-type rare earth raw ore, also called weathering crust of rare earth ore leaching plot..

Worldwide about 200 rare earth minerals are distributed in a wide variety of mineral classes, such as halides, carbonates, oxides, phosphates, silicates, etc. Light rare earth elements (LREE i.e. lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium and samaruim) tend to concentrate in carbonates and phosphates.

On the other hand, heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and Y are abundant in oxides and in some phosphates. 

One probable hypothesis for ore genesis is that the deposits might be formed by hydrothermal replacement of carbonate rocks of sedimentary origin.

The hydrothermal fluid may be derived from an alkaline–carbonatite intrusive series. Following Bayan Obo, more than 550 carbonatite/alkaline complex rocks constitute the majority of the world REE resources.

The distribution is restricted to interior and marginal regions of continents, especially Precambrian cratons and shields, or related to large-scale rift structures.

Sedimentary deposits of REE are placer- and conglomerate-types. The major potential countries are Australia, India, Brazil, and Malaysia. Weathered residual deposits, like the ion adsorption clay without radioactive elements in southern China, have been formed under tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Weathering processes concentrate REE in a particular clay mineral-layer in the weathered crusts whose source were originally REE-rich rocks like granite and carbonatite. (Yasuo Kanazawa and Masaharu Kamitani: Rare earth minerals and resources in the world, Elsevier B.V., 2005).

One of the more important deposits presently being developed worldwide is
the Mt Weld carbonatite deposit in Australia, known as the ‘Central Lanthanide Deposit’ (CLD) is, according to Lynas Corporation Ltd, the world’s richest rare earth ore body, easily capable of supplying up to 20% of the global market for 30 years. Indicated and Inferred Resources total 37.7 million tonnes of ore. In 2011Total Mt Weld estimate increased to 17,490kt at 8 .1%– a new contained REO of 1,416kt 
An initial mining campaign was successfully completed in June 2008. The campaign mined 773,300 tonnes of ore with an average grade of 15.4% Rare Earth Oxides (REO). The ore is stockpiled on-site and is sufficient for the first two years of the downstream processing operation.


  • Rainbow Rare Earths Gakara project. 
    The Gakara Rare Earth Project is one of the world’s richest rare earth deposits. It is located in Western Burundi, approximately 20km south-southeast of Bujumbura and covers a combined area of approximately 135km². There is good infrastructure near to the Gakara Project, with good road links to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Mombasa, Kenya. Rainbow was granted a mining licence in March 2015 and is valid for 25 years, and is renewable thereafter. Rainbow has a 90% interest in the Gakara Project with a non-dilutable 10% owned by the State. Historical mining at the site demonstrates the consistency of the grade and mineralisation of the concentrate whilst also providing significant detail and validation of the vein/stockwork rare earth mineralisation system. In September 2016, the Company commissioned MSA Group to prepare an independent Competent Person’s Report on the Gakara Project. To see the full Competent Person’s Report, click here The Gakara Project is considered by MSA Group to be an Exploration Target, as defined in the JORC Code. MSA Group has calculated an Exploration Target of between 20,000 and 80,000 tonnes of mineralised material grading 47-67% total REO. The potential tonnage and grade is conceptual in nature as there is insufficient exploration data to define a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if future exploration will result in the Exploration Target being reported as a Mineral Resource. MSA Group notes that there is scope for further exploration in the Gakara Project area which may result in additional potential being identified. Trial mining is a process undertaken to confirm procedures and methodologies to be applied in full-scale commercial mining of a project. Together with MSA Group, Rainbow has developed detailed trial mining plans for Gasagwe and Gashirwe West, which is projected to last for a total of 27 months and will be used to assess the economic viability of the Gakara Project. Mining of ore at the Gakara Project will be undertaken manually and the trial mining period will be used to effectively train the local workforce to identify and efficiently extract vein material from the host rock. The trial mining will also allow the Company to establish if the grade, width and lateral and down-dip continuity of individual veins are sufficiently developed on a local scale to support a profitable operation. In order to facilitate the production of rare earth concentrate from the run of mine material produced during trial mining, the Company will construct a processing plant at Gakara which has been designed to operate on a batch basis with the capacity to produce over 5,000 tpa of rare earth concentrate without incremental capital expenditure. The run of mine material will be processed simply by physically separating the mineralised vein material from the waste rock without requiring chemical processing. Test work indicates that a combination of crushing, jigs and shaking tables could be used to upgrade the Gakara ore to consistently achieve a concentrate grade of at least 55% total REO, at recoveries of 82-93%. Due to the plant’s small scale and that it will be comprised primarily of standard machinery, the construction is considered low-risk and is estimated to take nine months until full construction.


The Kangunkunde Carbonatite Complex deposit in Malawi has an inferred resource of 107,000 tonnes of rare earths oxide (REO) at an average grade of 4.24% REO in 2.53 million tonnes of mineralization using a cut-off grade of 3.5% REO.

The mineralization commences on the surface and the deposit remains open at depth. The relatively low cut-off grade is justified by the demonstrated amenability of the ore to low cost gravity separation to produce a high-grade concentrate.

The rare earth elements are mainly concentrated in the monazite mineralization and the distribution is as follows: La2O3 - 29.8%, CeO2 - 49.7%, Pr6O11 - 4.7%, Nd2O3 - 14.0%, Sm2O3 - 1.05%, Eu2O3 - 0.19%, Gd2O3 - 0.36%, Tb4O7 - 0.07%, Dy2O3 - 0.08%, Others - 0.04%. The monazite content of the ore averages more than 5%.

The deposit has low thorium oxide levels for a rare earths resource and samples averaged 11 ppm thorium oxide per percentage of REO content. (Lynas Corporation Ltd, http://www.lynascorp.com).

Occurrences of thorium, yttrium and rare earth elements in Namibia are known to be associated with carbonatites and granites and pegmatites of Namibian and Mesozoic age. Placer deposits of these minerals have formed mainly in Tertiary to Recent times in the marine environment.

Thorium, yttrium and rare earth element mineralization associated with carbonatites

The Lofdal-Bergville carbonatite dykes and plugs.

The Lofdal-Bergville carbonatites are located 30 km west of Khorixas in Damaraland on the farms Lofdal 491 and Bergville 490, where syenite, porphyry, tinguaite, lamprophyre, fenite and carbonatite dykes and plugs have intruded Huab Complex gneiss.

The carbonatites are highly radiogenic and contain xenotime, bastnaesite and thorite. Other alkaline intrusives occur south of Lofdal 491 on the farm Oas 486. The Oas syenite intruded rocks of the Nosib Group.
atites on Lofdal-Bergville were investigated in 1982, and thorium and yttrium values from 0.17% to 14.4% ThO2 and 0.05% to 0.63% yttrium were obtained. In addition to the radiogenic minerals and calcite, the carbonatites contain limonite, hematite, magnetite, zircon, fluorite and apatite.
A sample of a carbonatite dyke assayed as follows: lanthanum 1.5%, cerium 0.87% and neodymium 0.74%.


Namibia Rare Earths files maiden Lofdal resource, confirms HREE
By: Henry Lazenby
Published: 26th September 2012
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) –

Namibia Rare Earths(NRE) had filed a maiden resource for its Lofdal rare earths elements project, confirming the presence of high levels of heavy rare-earth enrichment (HREE) in certain areas of the project.
The National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate, covering Area 4 of the project located in the north-west of Namibia, pointed to “exceptional”
levels of HREE of between 75% and 93% HREE, depending on the cut-off grade, with corresponding total rare earth oxide grades (TREO) ranging from
0.27% to 1.26%.
What distinguishes the project from many other juniors that have entered the market in response to China’s reduction of exports over the past four years
– the country produces over 95% of the world’s rareearth’s supply – is its concentration of what are called heavy rare earths. “Given current rare-earth prices, over 90% of the value in this deposit lies in the four critical heavy rare
earths – europium, terbium, dysprosium and yttrium – with less than 2% of the value relating to lanthanum and cerium, the most common light rare earths,” NRE president Don Burton said in a prepared
statement.
Mining consultancy The MSA Group of South Africa prepared the estimate had identified the presence of an indicated resource, at a 0.3% TREO cut-off, of 900 000 t at 0.62% TREO, with 86% HREE, and an inferred resource of 750 000 t grading 0.56% TREO, with 85% HREE. The resource was drilled to a depth of 150 m and remained open at depth and along strike. At a low-grade cut-off of 0.1% TREO, the resource estimate provided for 2.88-million tons grading 0.32% TREO, with 76% HREE in the indicated category, and 3.28-million tons grading 0.27% TREO, with 75% HREE in the inferred category.
The company said it was still studying the most appropriate cut-off grade. NRE said a metallurgical study programme was also currently underway with Commodas Ultrasort, in Germany, and South African metallurgical specialist Mintek, to demonstrate the viability of extracting the rare earths from Area 4.
Burton also noted that subject to favourable outcomes on the metallurgy studies, the entire mineral resource at Area 4 could be upgraded from indicated and inferred to measured and indicated categories without any further drilling. However, there still remained substantial upside potential to increase the resource through further exploration of the 200 km2 Lofdal carbonatite complex.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia-based company debuted on the TSX in April, after it raised C$25-million in an initial public offering, in preparation for undertaking the resource estimate.

The Eureka carbonatite dykes

Monazite-bearing carbonatite dykes on the farm Eureka 99, located approximately 38 km west of Usakos, and about 2 km north of the Usakos-Swakopmund road, contain rare earth mineralization.

With the exception of a single occurrence of a sovite dyke, all the carbonatite dykes at Eureka are beforsitic in composition, but have varying concentrations of monazite.

The monazite-rich beforsites are characterised by rare earth oxide concentrations that range between 33% and 40%.

Drilling established proven reserves of 30 000 t of ore to a depth of 20 m, containing 1 900 t of rare earth elements.

The Kalkfeld Alkaline Complex

Thorium, yttrium and rare earth element mineralization is known to be associated with four carbonatite complexes in the Otjiwarongo and Grootfontein Districts. These complexes belong to a northeast-trending line of over 20 intra-plate-type, subvolcanic, ring complexes of the Damaraland Alkaline Province.

Within these complexes, thorium, yttrium and rare earth element mineralization is associated with late-stage plugs and dykes of mainly beforsitic composition, or with iron-rich, late-stage metasomatites. Three of the carbonatite complexes also carry disseminated pyrochlore.

The Kalkfeld complex is situated on the farm Eisenberg 78, about 11 km northwest of Kalkfeld, and measures about 5 km in diameter. The complex consists of confocal rings of granite, syenite, foyaite and carbonatite.

A plug of massive iron ore occupies the central area of the complex. The carbonatites and the iron ore show an enrichment in lanthanum (500 to 5 000 g/t), cerium (2 000 to 8 000 g/t) and neodymium (1 000 to 2 500 g/t). 


The Ondumakorume Complex

The Ondumakorume Complex forms a prominent hill on the farm Etaneno 44, about 10 km northeast of Kalkfeld. In addition to syenite, nepheline syenite, volcanic breccia and iron ore, micaceous sovite, grey sovite and beforsite are the main types of carbonatite. Rare earth minerals such as monazite, ancylite, cerianite and carbocerianite occur within beforsite with whole rock concentrations of up to 9 000 g/t cerium.


The Osongombe Complex

Osongombe is the smallest of the Damaraland carbonatite complexes and is situated about 12 km southwest of Kalkfeld on the farms Osongombe 80, Sud Osongombe 83 and Okarume 82.

The diatreme consists mainly of volcanic breccia and beforsite together with iron ore. The beforsite occupies the central area of the complex and is composed of manganiferous ankerite, apatite-rich aggregates magnetite-siderite, quartz and accessory, finely disseminated, yellowish octahedra of pyrochlore.

The Okorusu Alkaline Complex

The Okorusu Alkaline Complex is situated 45 km north-northeast of Otjiwarongo. The complex is composed of a series of alkaline rocks including hortonolite monzonite, various syenites, foyaite, urtite, tinguaite, nephelinite and carbonatite.

The southern portion of the complex is characterised by the presence of various metasomatites including aegirine fenite, limonitic iron ore and numerous ore bodies of fluorite that were formed by replacement of dolomitic marbles.

The carbonatites at Okorusu occur as pluglike bodies and dykes that have variously intruded aegirine fenite, rocks of the metasomatic aureole and the central area of the complex.

On the farm Brandenberg 87 a number of beforsitic carbonatite dykes and carbonate fluorite- bearing metasomatites carry appreciable amounts of rare earth element mineralization of mainly pale yellowish-brown synchisite, green monazite and yttrio-fluorite. Some of the dykes are up to 20 m wide and can be followed for up to 300 m along strike.

Synchisite occurs as fibrous needle-shaped or as plate-like crystals and is mainly associated with carbonate-quartz-fluorite-barite-thorite-monazite and xenotime-bearing assemblages.

The total rare earth oxide content in the siliceous rocks varies from 1.5% to 7%. The thorium and yttrium values of these rocks range from 0.4% to 3.5% thorium and from 0.2% to 1.01% yttrium.


The Agate Mountain Carbonatite Complex

About 8 km northeast of False Cape Fria, on the north-western coast of Namibia, a carbonatite complex has intruded Karoo Sequence volcanics. Bastnaesite is associated with late-stage beforsitic (Mg-rich) carbonatite and occurs in irregularly distributed patches.

Thorium, yttrium and rare earth element occurrences associated with granites and pegmatites

Some of the post-tectonic biotite granites of late Pan African age and, in particular, Pan African pegmatites, are known to contain accessory monazite, gadolinite, allanite, thorianite and yttrio-fluorite.

Wlotzkasbaken allanite occurrence

Phenocrysts of allanite, up to 60 mm in length, occur in a coarse-grained Pan African granite northeast of Wlotzkasbaken, 30 km north of Swakopmund. The allanite crystals are extremely well disseminated and the granite has not been investigated for other rare eartk minerals or sampled for total rare earth content.

The Brandberg Alkaline Complex

Zoned allanite occurs in potassium metasomatised biotite granite of the Brandberg Alkaline Complex, whereas chevkinite, monazite and fluorite are commonly associated with potash-altered, biotite granite.
Peralkaline granites and sodium-rich fenites that are associated with the Amis complex, located on the southwestern periphery of the Brandberg complex, contain anomalous whole rock yttrium (up to 2 000 g/t) and thorium concentrations (up to 700 g/t).

Fenitised peralkaline granites and agpaitic pegmatites of the Amis complex contain Y-fluorite, monazite, xenotime, bastnaesite and fergusonite. The Amis Complex represents a late intrusive phase associated with the Brandberg anorogenic granite intrusion.

It consists of peralkaline, arfvedsonite-bearing granitic and pegmatitic dikes and sills and is characterized by locally extreme enrichments in REE and rare metals with high charge-ionic radius ratios, such as Zr and Nb.

The highest concentrations (e.g., 1.7 wt % Zr, 0.3 wt % Nb, 0.5 wt % total REE) are found in aegirine-albite aplites that formed around arfvedsonite pegmatite cores.

Thorium, yttrium and rare earth element occurrences associated with placer deposits

Toscanini monazite occurrence

A monazite-bearing marine placer deposit was found in the Skeleton Coast Park near Toscanini. The monazite-bearing sands occur along a coastal strip some 22 km long, stretching from about 31 km south of Torra Bay to 20o 40’ south.

The extent of the deposit is outlined by a prominent radiogenic anomaly. The bedrock consists of quartz latites of the Etendeka Formation and sediments of the Toscanini Formation. The source of the monazite is unknown, but it can be speculated that it is possibly derived from Pan African granites that occur south of the deposit.

The monazite was presumably transported in a northerly direction by the Benguela current and subsequently concentrated and deposited by marine processes.

Rare earth element mineralization in South Africa occurs in heavy mineral sand deposits, in pegmatites and granites of the Namaqualand Metamorpic Complex, in carbonatites and alkaline complexes and in the fluorite-bearing rocks associated with the Bushveld Igneous Complex. 

South Africa’s known and demonstrated recoverable reserves were estimated in 1988 at 2.187 million metric tons of REO in two deposits; placer monazite at Richards Bay and rare earth bearing apatite at the Phalaborwa Complex (Van der Vyver, G P: Resources of Rare Earths in South Africa, Minerals Bureau, 1988).

These reserves, at the time, placed South Africa third in the world after China and the USA, but South Africa never developed a rare earth mining and refining industry. The other known occurrences in South Africa have not been adequately explored to be classified as demonstrated resources.
Although South Africa produced rare earth-bearing monazite concentrates at Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), production stopped before 2003 and RBM, like Ticor and Namakwa Sands, currently recovers only ilmenite, rutile and zircon.

The rare earth-bearing apatite concentrates of Phalaborwa have been investigated by MINTEK repeatedly with the view of producing rare earth oxides.

The Steenkampskraal monazite mine at Van Rynsdorp in Namaqualand, operated from 1952 to 1963, producing a monazite concentrate that was sold mostly for its thorium content rather than its rare earth content. It was the largest thorium source in the world during the years 1951 to 1963.

Richards Bay Minerals
Placer-type deposit with monazite plus thorium and consequently with a radioactive hazard problem.

Richards bay Minerals (RBM), jointly owned by Billiton and Rio Tinto, is the largest single producer of titanium in the world from heavy mineral deposits. RBM now accounts for about 25% of world output of titanium feedstocks (titania slag and rutile), 33% of world zircon output and 25% of high purity pig iron. The sand deposits contain REE-bearing monazite and the recoverable resource was estimated at 27,500 tonnes REO in 1988.

Phalaborwa Complex
Carbonatite-type deposit with a low-grade, high tonnage potential

The Phalaborwa Complex is a zoned pyroxenite-syenite-carbonatite intrusion located on four farms in Mpumalanga Province. It hosts South Africa’s largest copper mine and produces, in addition, magnetite, sulphuric acid, zirconia, uranium, precious metals, vermiculite (Rio Tinto) and phosphate (FOSKOR).

The REE occur mainly in the phosphate mineral apatite and the P2O5 content varies from 6% to 8% within the pyroxenites and the foskorite (altered magnetite-olivine-apatite carbonatite). Rio Tnto’s Palabora Mining Company has a standing contractual arrangement whereby the apatite concentrates are delivered to FOSKOR for the production of phosphate in exchange for copper concentrates from FOSKOR. The apatite concentrate contains on average 0.5% rare earth oxides. The total recoverable resource has been estimated at 2,160, 000 tonnes REO.

The europium content is in excess of 1% in the rare earth concentrates and the thorium oxide content of the rare earth concentrates is below 200 ppm. FOSKOR’s associated company, Sentrachem, conducted various investigations and tests by MINTEK on the concentrates with the view of recovering the individual rare earths.

Steenkampskraal monazite mine
Pegmatite-type deposit with low tonnage potential
The Steenkampskraal monazite deposit occurs in a sequence of highly metamorphosed crystalline gneisses of the Roodewal Suite of the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex.
The rocks are the host in which the pegmatite ore body occurs. The monazite-bearing ore body is tabular in shape with an undulating form and a thickness varying from 30 cm to 90 cm.
Minerals present in the ore body include monazite, quartz, apatite and magnetite with small amounts of zircon, pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena and ilmenite. The monazite is the source of the rare earths. The average in situ grade is 16.74% REO, 0.8% Cu, 0.5g/t Au and 6.0g/t Ag. The estimated reserve is 20 00 tonnes REO.
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd (Canadian) has an option to explore, develop and eventually buy the total production from Rare Earth Extraction Company Ltd. The developer of the South Africa-based Steenkampskraal rare-earths project, TSX-V-listed Great Western Metals Group (GWMG) said in May 2012 it had filed a Canadian National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource report with Canadian Securities Administrators.

The report states that Steenkampskraal hosted a resource of 131 500 t of rare-earth minerals in the indicated and inferred categories, with about 37 500 t of resources located in the upper and lower tailings dams.


GWMG said it had notified its escrow agent that it had satisfied the escrow release condition of the $90-million convertible bond financing and expects the remaining $10.8-million, earmarked to satisfy interest payments, to be released to the company in due course.


In order to satisfy the escrow release condition, GWMG had to confirm that at least 20 000 t of total rare-earth oxides (TREO) including yttrium, in the sum of the measured, indicated, and inferred resource categories are present at the Steenkampskraal property using a 1% cut-off grade.


The NI 43-101 report pointed to the presence of 13 823.64 t of TREO including yttrium under the indicated resource category and 14 147.76 t under the inferred resource category.


The aspiring integrated rare-earths producer on Wednesday said it had narrowed its first-quarter loss to $3.06-million when compared with the loss of $4.86-million in the same period a year ago.
Other carbonatites and alkaline complexes with rare earth element mineralization.

Mineralized carbonatites usually contain a high concentration of the so-called light rare earth elements lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, praseodymium and samaruim. The minerals containing the rare earths occur dispersed in the calcite (Ca-rich), and, dolomite (Mg-rich) and ankerite (Fe-rich) forming the bulk of the carbonatite.

If a carbonatite or complex consists of multiple intrusions or phases, the rare earth element content tends to increase in the youngest phases. Apatite is considered to be an accessory phase of carbonatites and contains substantial rare earth elements remobilised by hydrothermal fluids.

The rare earth minerals bastnaesite, parisite and synchisite are considered to be supergene, i. e. formed at shallow depth by the action of groundwater. (Mountain Pass in California and Mt Weld in Australia, where the ore-grade mineralization occurs between 30 metres and 60 metres below the present-day surface, are examples where the supergene enriched portions of the carbonatites are of economic interest).


The Glenover Carbonatite Complex

The Glenover Carbonatite Complex, 80km north-northwest of Thabazimbi, comprises an oval shaped, poorly exposed pyroxenite and carbonatite body, 4.7 km long and 3.5 km wide. Monazite is bound in a coarse-grained sövite (Ca-rich) and magnesio-carbonatite.
Associated minerals include apatite, magnetite, phlogopite and pyrochlore. Associated secondary minerals include quartz, synchisite, fluorite, barite, monazite and columbite. The presence of synchisite could indicate supergene enrichment in rare earth mineralization of the brecciated complex, but there is no information available on the distribution of the rare earth minerals.

The Kruidfontein Complex

The Kruidfontein Complex is situated approximately 130km north-northwest of Pretoria. It has a caldera structure, along a NW-striking regional fault. The carbonatites represent the last stage of extrusive activity of the Kruidfontein Complex.

Rare earths associated with fluorite (CaF2) mineralization occur associated with the intrusive (fluorite-rich dykes and plugs) and extrusive (replacement and disseminated ore) carbonatitic rocks.

A large tabular stratiform ore body occurs in the southwestern part of the Complex, and contains an average of 30% CaF2. Fluorite occurs disseminated throughout the inner zone with concentrations not exceeding 10% CaF2. Analytical results from the inner zone show that the fluorite contains La2O3 in variable concentrations between 0.02 and 0.15 wt%.

The Pilanesberg Complex

Rare earths are found in alkaline rocks of Pilanesberg on Thabayadiotsa on the farms Houwater 54, Rhenosterspruit 59 and Saulspoort 38.

Rare earth mineralization on Houwater 54 occurs as veins in the contact zone between a tinguaite ring dyke and younger foyaite, On the farm Rhenosterspruit 59, rare earth mineralization occurs in tuff bands intercalated with lava over a distance of 2 km. On the farm Saulspoort 38, rare earth mineralization occurs as veins in a white foyaite. Yttrium and REE are concentrated in britholite ((Ce,Ca,Th,La,Nd)5(SiO4,PO4)3(OH,F) ) veins and britholite-bearing foyaite.

High grade mineralization consists of britholite containining 56.36% REO and 1.56% ThO2 and magnetite with minor amounts of allanite, apatite, calcite, strontianite, fluorite, aegirine and cheralite.

The reserves have been estimated at 13.5 Mt at 0.7% REO +ThO2, 1.2 Mt at 6.54% REO +ThO2, and 24 000t at 10% REO+ThO2.

The Vergenoeg magnetite-fluorite deposit

The Vergenoeg breccia pipe is located in Gauteng Province approximately 80 kilometers northeast of Pretoria. Vergenoeg is a fluorite-bearing massive iron oxide deposit that is genetically related to granites of the Bushveld Complex.

The deposit is a funnel-shaped breccia pipe, with a diameter of 900 m (north-northwest) to 700 m (east-northeast) on surface, which contains fluorite, apatite, ilmenite and magnetite.

Vergenoeg is a fluorite mine, despite the large volumes of magnetite and has produced fluorite since 1956. The fluorite ore body, up to a depth of 360 m has a resource estimate of 174 Mt at 28.1% CaF2. The iron resource is in the order of 195 Mt at 42% Fe.

Mining has been focused on the upper part of the pipe-shaped body (porous botryoidal hematite-goethite gossan). The gossan contains resistant minerals such as cassiterite, apatite and rare earth carbonates.

Siderite is often found with the REE minerals, normally occurring in veinlets and coarse-grained masses. REE minerals in the upper part of the pipe may have originated from remobilization of allanite from the lower part of the pipe.

Similarly remobilization might have resulted in the REE mineralization seen in the siderite veins and interstitial grains between apatite laths, including monazite.

The primary assemblage of minerals in the lower part of the Vergenoeg pipe comprises mainly of fluorite, ilmenite and fayalite (Fe2SiO4) with minor pyrrhotite, apatite and allanite.
Allanite is the most common REE-bearing mineral in the primary mineral assemblage and are intergrown with fayalite and ilmenite.

It seems that the REE potential of Vergenoeg has not been investigated systematically and no further information on the distribution and grade of the REE mineralization could be obtained.
Similarities with Phalaborwa and also with Bayan Obo, Mongolia, indicate that the Vergenoeg pegmatoid pipe could be an extreme carbonatite-associated member of the Fe-oxide Cu–Au (±REE±P) group of deposits. (Goff, B. H., Weinberg, R, Groves, D. I.; Vielreicher, N. M.; Fourie, P. J.: The giant Vergenoeg fluorite deposit in a magnetite–fluorite–fayalite REE pipe: a hydrothermally-altered carbonatite-related pegmatoid?; Mineralogy and Petrology, Volume 80, Numbers 3-4, March 2004 , pp. 173-199).
Metorex sold its 55% shareholding in Vergenoeg to its Spanish partner, Minerales y Productos Derivados S.A. (“Minersa”) in December 2009 for US$60 m. (Metorex acquired the mine in 1999 when its former owner - chemical giant Bayer - decided to sell out as part of its drive to dispose of non-core operations and concentrate on its main business - the manufacture of chemicals.
Metorex then promptly sold 30% of Vergenoeg to the Spanish chemical group Minersa, which also bought a 20% direct stake in Metorex itself, becoming one of the group's largest shareholders).
The Buffalo Fluorspar Deposit

The deposit is situated about 75 km north of Vergenoeg near Mookgopong (formerly Naboomspruit) in Limpopo Province and contains fluorite veins which cut through altered rhyolite of the Rooiberg Group, which is surrounded by the Bushveld Complex granite.

Buffalo fluorite mine was mothballed in October 2008 due to market circumstances. Ongoing empirical test work to reduce the phosphorous content of its product was in progress.

In addition, test work on the fines from the substantial aggregate dumps on the neighbouring property continued. If either of these projects are revived and proves successful, Buffalo could be re-opened.

One of the opportunities at Buffalo that Sallies Ltd, the previous owner, planned to investigate further was the rare earth minerals contained within tailings.
During 2009 Firebird Global Master Fund, Ltd (Incorporated in the Cayman Islands) made a successful offer for the shares that they did not already owned.

The Zandkops Drift Complex

The pipe-like vermiculite-calcite-limonite body, similar in character to deeply weathered complexes like Mount Weld in Australia, is located approximately 26 km southwest of Garies, in the Northern Cape.

Pyrochlore and secondary REE mineralization is associated with manganoan calcite, goyazite, gorceixite, carbonate-apatite, betafite, uraninite, and niobium rutile.

A bulk sample assayed 2.6% P2O5, 900 ppm Nb, 0.069 kg/t U3O8, 0.197 kg/t ThO2, 1.2 %REO+ThO2 and 320 ppm Mo, but beneficiation tests yielded disappointing results.


Zambia

  •  Aim-listed African Consolidated Resources (ACR) has signed a joint-venture (JV) agreement with an Australian-based exploration company Rare Earth International (REI) to explore ACR’s Nkombwa Hill rare-earths and phosphate project, in Zambia.

    The 720-km2 exploration project was expected to contain a large potential phosphate resource, as well as light rare-earth elements (REEs).

    REI would, in terms of the agreement, spend at least $750 000 over the next two years to define an inferred resource to a Joint Ore Reserve Committee- (Jorc-) compliant standard for the project, in order to earn a 30% stake.

    It would then spend a further $600 000 over an 18-month period to define an indicated resource to Jorc-compliant standard, the completion of which would lead to an increase in its stake to 50%.

    ACR would then have the option to cofund the completion of a prefeasibility study and a bankable feasibility study, with each party maintaining a 50% interest in the project.

    However, if it decided not to provide cofunding for the feasibility studies, REI would eventually boost its stake in the project to 75% by providing all the funding.

    Corporate finance services provider Ambrian Capital said in a research note that the signing of the JV partnership was a “savvy” move, as it would allow the company to diversify out of its primary country of operation, Zimbabwe.

    Further, Ambrian pointed out that while the project’s focus would be phosphate, for which there was plenty of demand in Africa, it would also bring in more experienced partners to focus on the development of the more lucrative REEs.

    “There is currently a significant focus on REEs following recent moves by China, the world’s largest supplier or REEs, to restrict exports,” it added.

    China plans to allow only a few State-owned enterprises to mine rare-earth metals, as part of a campaign to combat illegal mining and to consolidate its reserves.

    Worldwide demand for REEs, which are used in the manufacturing of hybrid cars, superalloys used in the defence industry, cellphones, large wind turbines, missiles and computer monitors, is on the increase, but the majority of the world’s supply, 95%, was still produced by China.

    Global demand for REEs was expected to exceed 200 000 t/y by 2014, while a global shortfall of 40 000 t/y was expected by 2015, the US-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security pointed out in a March report.

    This has led to companies relooking at old dormant REEs projects.

    Australia’s Lynas Corporation was developing one of the largest REE projects outside China, namely the Mount Weld carbonatite in Western Australia, while US-based Molycorp Minerals had an interest in another large REE resource.

    TSX Venture Exchange-listed Great Western Minerals Group also announced earlier this month that it had been granted new-order mining rights for the Steemkampskraal monazite project, in South Africa’s Western Cape province. (Source: 
    miningweekly.com)