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，因为它们对风力涡轮机等可再生能源技术以及低碳运输电动马达的开发至关重要。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，但目前所需金属的供应有限，现有的原材料来源或回收无法满足使用量的增加。因此，有必要调查这些金属的矿产资源的形成，确定新资源的潜力，并在开采过程中提高效率并将对环境的影响降至最低。目前，稀土元素主要在中国提取和加工，布莱顿大学和埃克塞特大学目前在这方面与北京大学有研究联系。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与矿产资源国家重点实验室开展新的合作，然后举办研讨会，让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。该伙伴关系的主要重点将是研究碳酸盐岩(火成岩碳酸盐岩)风化过程中稀土元素的富集化和分离过程。目前全球稀土供应来自碳酸盐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)。但风化碳酸盐岩的稀土元素含量最高，中国李庄碳酸盐岩的初步资料表明，它们可能结合了碳酸盐岩和离子吸附矿床的特征。这意味着，可能有潜力开发出对环境影响更低(能源成本)的方法，从这些矿床中提取稀土元素。该项目将研究这些矿床的矿物学和地球化学，并以收集的数据为基础，建立新的国际项目，进一步开展稀土资源研究。

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.