Couverture de Australian Mines and Mineral Deposits

Australian Mines and Mineral Deposits

Australian Mines and Mineral Deposits

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 Australia is a leading global producer of 19 valuable minerals, sourced from over 350 active mines. This podcast will summarise the geology of important mines and mineral deposits in Australia.Geoscience Podcasts Science Sciences de la Terre
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    • Mount Weld Rare Earth Element Deposit, Western Australia

      Mount Weld Rare Earth Element Deposit, Western Australia
      Jun 11 2025
      Join us as we delve into the fascinating geological story of the Mount Weld carbonatite complex in Western Australia, home to one of the world's richest Rare Earth Element (REE) deposits. We'll explore its discovery, unique geological setting, the intricate processes of weathering that led to its extraordinary enrichment, and the diverse mineralogy that makes it a critical source for modern technologies.Discovery and Significance:The Mount Weld carbonatite was first discovered in 1967 following a regional aeromagnetic survey in 1966, which revealed a pronounced magnetic anomaly associated with a large circular structure hidden beneath alluvial sediments.Initially targeted for niobium, uranium, and phosphate, interest in Rare Earth Elements began in 1988.Mount Weld is now a world-class REE deposit, ranking among the highest-grade globally, with current proven ore reserves averaging 8.3% Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO). It's one of the most strategically important REE mines outside China.Mining commenced in 2011, with concentrates shipped to Malaysia for refining into high-quality rare earth minerals.A Journey Through Time: Geological Setting & Formation:Located 250 km northeast of Kalgoorlie, Mount Weld is a Paleoproterozoic carbonatite intrusion within the Archean Yilgarn Craton's Eastern Goldfields Province.The carbonatite complex is generally described as a steeply plunging maar-type diatreme or cylindrical body, 3-4 km in diameter, intruding into volcano-sedimentary greenstones.Its age is well-constrained around 2.06 Ga (specifically 2056 ± 67 Ma based on monazite Th-Pb dating). This age coincides with a regional tectono-magmatic event that produced alkaline ultramafic-mafic igneous rocks and kimberlites in the area.The complex exhibits a distinct geological architecture: a central magnesio- to ferrocarbonatite core (~600 m diameter) rich in REE, surrounded by a broad (~1-1.5 km) calciocarbonatite annulus with higher niobium concentrations. This structure is strikingly similar to other major global carbonatite complexes like Ngualla and Mirima Hill.Primary REE mineralization within the fresh carbonatite is primarily found in the central magnesio- to ferrocarbonatite, with monazite and late magmatic REE fluorocarbonates (synchysite/bastnäsite). Experimental studies show REE solubilities in carbonatite melts can be high (up to >10 wt%), suggesting magmatic processes played a significant role in the initial REE enrichment.The Power of Weathering: Supergene Enrichment:The current economic REE resources are almost exclusively hosted within a thick lateritic regolith (weathering profile) overlying the carbonatite, ranging from 10 to over 120 meters in thickness.This weathering profile developed post-Permian glaciation and prior to Eocene lacustrine sediments, suggesting a formation period during the Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic.The extreme REE enrichment (up to 50% TREO in grab samples) is largely attributed to long-term leaching and redeposition by groundwater movement.The highest REE concentrations occur in a central topographic low of the laterite, indicating significant lateral REE mobility towards this "solution sink hole".Studies indicate a ~5x upgrade in REE (and Nb) concentrations from the primary carbonatite to the overlying paleoregolith, with minimal horizontal migration of ore elements on a complex scale during weathering. This means the regolith broadly reflects the underlying carbonatite's trace element signatureSources:Australian Mines AtlasMount Weld Deposit Summary ReportPorterGeo Database - Mount WeldThe primary geology of the Paleoproterozoic Mt Weld Carbonatite Complex, Western AustraliaMineralogy and Distribution of REE in Oxidised Ores of the Mount Weld Laterite Deposit, Western AustraliaDisclaimer:AI generated content created using Google's NotebookLM.
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      18 min
    • Understanding Rare-Earth Elements – From Earth to Industry

      Understanding Rare-Earth Elements – From Earth to Industry
      Jun 5 2025
      In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of Rare-Earth Elements (REEs), a group of seventeen specialty metals crucial for high-technology industries due to their unique chemical, magnetic, and luminescent properties. We'll explore where these vital elements are found, how they are classified, and the complex processes involved in extracting them from the Earth.What are Rare-Earth Elements?REEs include the lanthanide series (lanthanum to lutetium) and yttrium, with scandium also often discussed in this group.They are strategically important commodities, increasingly attractive targets for the mineral industry.REEs are used in various applications, such as high-strength permanent magnets, catalysts for petroleum refining, metal and glass additives, and phosphors used in electronic displays.Australian REE Deposits and Geological SettingsAustralia holds significant REE resources, found in diverse geological environments including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.Elevated concentrations of REEs have been documented in various deposit types, including: Heavy-mineral sand deposits (beach, dune, marine tidal, and channel); Carbonatite intrusions and (per)alkaline igneous rocks, Iron-oxide breccia complexes and calc-silicate rocks (skarns); Fluorapatite veins, pegmatites, phosphorites, fluviatile sandstones, unconformity-related uranium deposits, and lignites.The mineral-system approach is used to classify major Australian REE deposits. This framework helps understand the geological processes critical for deposit formation and aids in identifying new areas for mineralization.The highest level of this classification includes four general 'mineral-system association' categories: regolith, basinal, metamorphic, and magmatic.Key REE-Bearing MineralsThe only REE-bearing minerals commercially extracted on a large scale are bastnäsite, monazite, and xenotime.Bastnäsite: A cerium-type mineral that is a major source of light rare earth elements (LREEs).Monazite: A phosphate mineral, primarily a cerium-type mineral rich in Ce, La, Pr, and Nd. It also contains thorium and variable amounts of uranium.Xenotime: A yttrium phosphate mineral that is a major source of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). It is often found with monazite and extracted as a by-product.Ion-adsorbed clays are also important sources of HREEs, occurring as rare earth element ions.Other REE-bearing minerals, such as eudialyte, synchysite, samarskite, allanite, zircon, steenstrupine, cheralite, rhabdophane, apatite, florenceite, fergusonite, loparite, perovskite, cerianite, and pyrochlore, are also found, though only some are economically significant.Beneficiation of REE-Bearing MineralsBeneficiation refers to the processes used to concentrate REE-bearing minerals from raw ore.Common techniques include gravity separation, magnetic separation, electrostatic separation, and froth flotation.Froth Flotation is particularly crucial for complex ores, like the Bayan Obo deposit in China, where fine grain size makes other methods difficult.Flotation often involves using fatty-acid or hydroxamate-based collector systems. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the geological settings, resources, and beneficiation techniques for rare-earth elements, drawing on the latest information from Australian and international sources.Sources:Australian Mines AtlasGeological setting and resources of the major rare-earth-element deposits in Australia.The story of rare earth elements (REEs): Occurrences, global distribution, genesis, geology, mineralogy and global production.A review of the beneficiation of rare earth element bearing mineralsDisclaimer:AI generated content created using Google's NotebookLM.
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      45 min
    • Unearthing the geology of the Winu-Ngapakarra Copper-Gold-Silver deposit – Australia's New Copper-Gold Frontier

      Unearthing the geology of the Winu-Ngapakarra Copper-Gold-Silver deposit – Australia's New Copper-Gold Frontier
      Jun 4 2025
      Join us as we explore the geology of the remarkable Winu-Ngapakarra copper-gold-silver deposit in Western Australia's Great Sandy Desert, a discovery that's reshaping our understanding of mineral potential in the Paterson Orogen. Discovered by Rio Tinto Exploration in late 2017, Winu represents a unique new deposit style and is generating significant excitement for future exploration.Key Takeaways from this Episode:Location and Regional Context: The Winu deposit is situated within the Paterson Orogen, a NNW-trending belt of folded and metamorphosed Proterozoic rocks in northwestern Australia. This region is considered an important and developing mineral province. The deposit itself sits on the Anketell Shelf, a Proterozoic basement high within the Paterson Orogen, largely covered by younger sedimentary rocks.Host Rocks and Metamorphism: Mineralization at Winu is hosted in metamorphosed sub-arkosic sandstones, siltstones, minor greywackes, mafic rocks, and calc-silicates. These rocks are preliminarily correlated with the Lamil Group, specifically the upper Malu Formation, which also hosts the renowned Telfer deposit. The rocks underwent regional metamorphism up to upper greenschist/lower amphibolite facies, with a contact metamorphic overprint, often visible as altered porphyroblasts.Structural Story: The deposit's structure is dominated by a NNW-trending, W-verging monocline, interpreted to have formed during the older Miles Orogeny (~820-810 Ma). This structure was later refolded during the Paterson Orogeny (~550 Ma), leading to the formation of a half-domal structure at Winu. Key regional features include the Thorny Devil Fault, a significant NW-trending normal fault that separates the Winu and Ngapakarra deposits.Intrusion-Related Mineralization: Winu is classified as a wall rock-hosted, intrusion-related copper-gold deposit, genetically linked to granite intrusions. Geochronology dates the main mineralization stages (V2 and V3A) at approximately 658 to 655 Ma, while later veins (V4) are dated around 619.0 ± 8.1 Ma.The "Bismuth Collector Model" for Gold: A fascinating aspect of Winu is that gold precipitation is thought to have occurred via the bismuth collector model. This process involves hydrothermal fluids, initially above 270°C and relatively reduced, forming a bismuth (telluride) melt that efficiently scavenged gold from the gold-undersaturated fluid. Textures show a progression from native bismuth and gold (maldonite) to tellurobismuth minerals and then bismuthinite associated with sulfides. This suggests an early gold system was overprinted by a later copper system.Hydrothermal Vein Systems: The deposit features multiple generations of hydrothermal veins: Early Stockwork (V1), Early Mineralized (V2), Main Stage (V3A-D), Late Quartz Veins (V4), and Late Fractures/Breccias (V5).Supergene Enrichment: The upper parts of the Winu deposit, those not covered by mudstones, show supergene upgrading of mineralization to depths averaging 200 m, and locally up to 340 m. This has resulted in the formation of minerals like chalcocite, malachite, and chrysocolla.Exploration Significance: The discovery of Winu as a significant intrusion-related copper-gold deposit opens up substantial future exploration opportunities in this relatively underexplored part of Australia, particularly in the concealed northern extension of the Paterson Province.Sources:⁠Winu Deposit Summary Report⁠⁠Australian Mines Atlas⁠⁠Rio Tinto Website⁠⁠PorterGeo Database - Winu-Ngapakarra⁠⁠Geology of Winu-Ngapakarra, Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia⁠⁠The Winu-Ngapakarra deposit in the Great Sandy Desert of WA⁠⁠MEGWA18 May 2022: The Winu-Ngapakarra Copper Gold Deposit⁠ (YouTube)⁠Winu Blog Post⁠Disclaimer:AI generated content created using Google's NotebookLM.
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      55 min

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