"Implications of the tectonic setting, magma-wallrock interaction and postemplacement evolution of carbonatites for their rare-metal (REE, Nb, Ta, Zr and U) potential"

碳酸盐岩和成因相关的碳酸盐岩是稀有金属的重要经济来源。近年来，人们越来越认识到碳酸盐岩可能具有多种成因，并因其构造环境和地幔来源的不同而显示出根本的差异。到目前为止，还没有系统地研究碳酸盐岩的构造和地球化学之间的关系(因此，也就是它们的经济潜力)。岩浆-围岩相互作用对稀有元素运移和封存的影响，以及侵位后结构和化学变化对碳酸盐岩矿体几何和成分的影响，都没有足够详细的研究。拟议的研究将解决这些现有差距，试图找出有助于发展碳酸盐岩中镧系元素、Nb、Ta和其他稀有金属经济集中度的主要因素。拟议的研究计划的新奇之处在于，它将涉及对碳酸盐岩的系统和综合研究，其中包含来自不同构造背景的已记录的稀有元素矿化。该计划将建立在申请者对这些地质系统的丰富经验的基础上，并将涉及到以前没有研究过的新材料的获取，但这些材料代表了重要的地质上不同类型的碳酸盐。该方案将包括一个大型培训部分，并将遵循多种分析方法，以确保不同类型的矿化可以在碳酸岩演化的背景下得到解释。这项分析工作将涉及样品的地球化学特征、矿物鉴定、来源-来源研究和岩石成因模拟。这项工作的三个主要成果将是：(1)更好地了解碳酸盐岩形成的来源和过程；(2)完善碳酸盐岩矿床的勘探标准；(3)培训高素质人员。拟议研究的结果将通过同行评议的国际期刊、网络媒体、在会议上的陈述、矿产勘探大会和和记黄埔巡回演讲的出版物来传播。

Carbonatites and genetically related carbonate rocks are an economically important source of rare metals. In recent years, it has been increasingly recognized that carbonatites may have multiple origins and show fundamental differences specific to their tectonic setting and mantle sources. These relations between the tectonics and geochemistry of carbonatites (and, therefore, also their economic potential) have not been systematically studied to date. Neither the effects of magma-wallrock interactions on the transport and sequestration of rare elements, nor the impact of postemplacement textural and chemical changes on the geometry and composition of carbonatite-hosted ore bodies have been studied in adequate detail. The proposed research will address these existing gaps in an attempt to identify the principal factors that contribute to the development of economic concentrations of lanthanides, Nb, Ta and other rare metals in carbonatites. The novelty of the proposed research program is in that it will involve a systematic and integrated study of carbonatites containing documented rare-element mineralization from different tectonic settings. The program will build on the applicant's extensive experience with these geological systems and will involve acquisition of new material not studied previously, but representing important geologically distinct types of carbonatite. The program will include a large training component and will follow a multi-analytical approach to ensure that different styles of mineralization can be interpreted in the context of carbonatite evolution. This analytical work will involve geochemical characterization of samples, mineral identification, source-provenance studies, and petrogenetic modelling. The three major outcomes of this work will be: (1) an improved understanding of the sources and processes responsible for the formation of carbonatites; (2) refined exploration criteria for carbonatite-hosted ore deposits, and (3) training of highly qualified personnel. The results of the proposed research will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed international journals, web-based media, presentations at conferences, mineral exploration conventions and Hutchison lecture tour.