Rare earth element (REE) behaviour in alkaline mineral systems:Harnessing nature's geochemical patterns.

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Rare earth element (REE) behaviour in alkaline mineral systems:Harnessing nature's geochemical patternsRare Earth Elements (REE) are essential to the UK's high technology manufacturing industries but our supply comes from only a few deposits worldwide, with the vast majority from China. New sources must be found and new exploration methods developed. All buried mineral deposits have a fingerprint and we believe that surface soils and certain rocks such as volcanic ashes contain signatures of REE leading to deposits deep below, according to recent geological hypothesis. One aim of our research is to determine what these signatures are and to use these "route-maps" discover new REE deposits, hidden by surface layers. To achieve this and to make our research widely applicable, we need to understand the signature patterns and the fundamental processes causing them. This will also help us to understand the cycling of REE in surface environments, not just with an eye on the application to finding new resources but also for efficient exploitation. We have stimulated significant interest in this concept from mineral exploration companies and this project aims to bring together these industrial players and academic researchers to develop the ideas. We have noted that a particular group of common, naturally occurring minerals, the zeolites, accumulate small quantities of REE and might be selective in which REE they concentrate. We hope to discover which zeolites are selective for which particular REE to be able to harness the patterns for industrial innovation. The findings will have the potential to help with making special, separated REE components for use in manufacturing, and for environmental benefits from energy savings.Understanding and mimicking nature has led to many innovations for the benefit of society, (e.g. flight and antibiotics) and in pursuit of our goals we can exploit recent observations from the largest REE deposit in the world (Bayan Obo, China), to help examine our concepts of REE mobilities. At Bayan Obo there are enrichment patterns involving the light-REE and the much sought after heavy-REE, which we can use to understand REE mobility. If we team up with theoretical modellers and materials' scientists, we hope to contrive to mimic nature for developing more heavy-REE products for society, by using existing industrial liquids, and lessening the need for new mines.