Weathering of carbonatite REE deposits (WREED): a critical stage in generation of critical metal resources.

稀土元素（REE）被归类为关键金属，因为它们对于风力涡轮机等可再生能源技术以及低碳运输电动机的开发至关重要。英国和全球目前的政府政策正在推动这些技术的使用扩大，但所需金属的供应目前有限，并且无法通过原材料来源或回收来满足使用量的增加。因此，有必要调查这些金属的矿产资源的形成，以确定新资源的潜力，并提高效率，最大限度地减少其提取对环境的影响。目前，稀土元素的提取和加工主要在中国进行，布莱顿大学和埃克塞特大学目前与北京大学在这一领域有研究联系。该项目旨在建立和扩大这一研究网络，主要是通过与武汉地质过程和矿产资源国家重点实验室建立新的合作关系，然后通过举办研讨会，邀请来自中国和世界其他地区的研究人员参加，以确定该领域的关键研究问题，并建立一个国际团队来解决这些问题。合作的主要重点将是研究碳酸岩（火成岩碳酸岩）风化过程中稀土元素的富集和分离过程。目前全球稀土供应来自碳酸岩中未风化的基岩矿床，或风化花岗岩（有时称为离子吸附矿床）。然而，风化碳酸盐岩具有最高浓度的稀土元素，中国李庄碳酸盐岩的初步数据表明，它们可能结合了碳酸盐岩和离子吸附矿床的联合收割机特征。这意味着有可能开发出较低的环境imapct（能源成本）的方式提取稀土元素从这些矿床。该项目将研究这些矿床的矿物学和地球化学，并将收集的数据作为建立新的国际项目的基础，以进一步开展稀土资源的研究。

The rare earth elements (REE) are classified as critical metals because they are essential for renewable energy technology such as wind turbines, and for the development of electric motors for low carbon transport. Current government policies in the UK and globally are driving an expansion in use of these technologies, but the supply of the metals needed is currently limited and the increase in use cannot be met from exisiting raw material sources or recycling. There is therefore a need to investigate the formation of mineral resources for these metals, to determine the potential for new resources, and to improve efficiency and minimise environment impact in their extraction. Currently the REE are mainly extracted and processed in China, and the Universities of Brighton and Exeter currently have research links with Peking Univeristy in this area. This project aims to build and expand this research network, primarily by developing a new collaboration with the State Key Laboratory for Geological Processes and Mineral resources in Wuhan, and then by running workshops involving researchers from China and the rest of world, to define key research problems in the area, and build an international team to address them. A primary focus of the parternship will be to study processes of enrichment and separation of the REE during weathering of carbonatites (igneous carbonatite rocks). Current global REE supply is met from unweathered bedrock deposits in carbonatites, or from weather grantic rocks (sometimes called ion adsorption deposits). However, weathered carbonatites have some of the highest concentrations of the REE, and preliminary data from the Lizhuan carbonatite in China suggest that they may combine characteristics of carbonatite and ion adsorption deposits. This means there may be potential for developing lower environmental imapct (energy cost) ways of extracting the REE from these deposits. The project will study the mineralogy and geochemistry of these deposits, and use the data collected as the basis for setting up new international projects to further develop research on REE resources.