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Weird Intrusives
©2010 Dr. B. C. Paul
Pictures were collected from a variety of internet sources. Much of the statistical data is from USGS sources
Mantle Plumes and Chambers
Rising Plume of Mantle creates chamber under ContinentOld Continental Shields are the favored location- rifting may be related
Differentiation of Melts
Carbonate and Silicate Rich Melts Separate – carbonate can also pick upSome carbon already part of the continent.
Carbonatites Appear Well Distributed Over Time
Carbonatite Lava Flows
Grade and Tonnage.
Best Ore Deposits have tended to be theBigger 220MT + with around 1% + NoibiumAnd around 0.5% REE
Columbite
(Mg,Fe++,Mn)(Nb,Ta)2O6 Tantalum 10.95% Noibium 47.8%
Color Brownish Black to BlackHardness 6.5S.G. 5.04Non Fluorescent Non MetalicStreak dark brown
Tantalite
MnTa2O6 Tantalum 70.6%
Color Black, BrownHardness 6-6.5S.G. 8.1Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak brown
Major Rare Earth Elements
Monazite
Sm0.2Gd0.2Th0.15Ce0.15Ca0.1Nd0.1(PO4)0.9
Samarium 13.6%Gadolium 14.2%Neodynium 6.5%Cerium 9.5%Thorium 15.7%
ColorYellowishHardenss 5-5.5S.G. 5-5.3Non FluorescentNon MagneticStreakWhite
Bastnasite
La(CO3)F Lanthanum 43.7%Color Yellow, Redish BrownHardness 4-5S.G. 4.97 Streak WhiteNon Fluorescent Non Magnetic
Pyrochlore
(Na,Ca)2Nb2O6(OH,F) Noibium 52.5%Color Brown, Yellowish brown, Yellow, Greenish brown, Reddish brown. Hardness 5-5.5 Streak Yellowish BrownS.G. 4.2 - 6.4, Average = 5.3Non Fluorescent Non Magnetic
Ion Adsorption Clays
China hasWeathered claysThat haveAdsorbed REEFrom a weatheredGranite source
Uses
• Almost all of Niobium tonnage goes to make steel alloys and super alloys
• About 60% of Tantalum goes to make electronics (especially capacitors)– Super alloys and corrosion resistant
equipment coating dominate the rest of use
Uses of Rare Earths
Rare Earth Uses
29.00
18.00
14.00
12.00
9.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
Metals/ Alloys
Electronics
Catalysts
Phosphours
Catalytic Converters
Glass/ Ceramics
Magnets
Oil Refiing
Other
Niobium Reserves and Production
Production and Reserves of Niobium
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
Production Reserves/50
Met
ric
To
nn
es
Canada
Brazil
Australia
What is Niobium Worth
Niobium Value
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
2009
$200
9 p
er L
b
Niobium Value
Around $10/lb with some extreme shortage price spikes
Tantalum Production and Reserves
Tantalum Reserves and Production
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
Production Reserves/100
Met
ric
To
nn
es
Other
Rwanda
Mozambique
Ethiopia
Canada
Brazil
Australia
What is Tantalum Worth?
Tantalum Value
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
19
64
19
69
19
74
19
79
19
84
19
89
19
94
19
99
20
04
$2
00
9 p
er
Lb
Tantalum Value
About $50/lb
Reserves and Production of Rare Earths
Production and Reserves of Rare Earths
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
Production Reserves/500
Me
tric
To
nn
es
Other
Malaysia
India
Commonwealth of IAS
China
Brazil
Australia
United States
What are Rare Earths Worth?
Rare Earth Value
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
19
22
19
31
19
40
19
49
19
58
19
67
19
76
19
85
19
94
20
03
$2
00
9/l
b
Rare Earth Value
About $5/lb
Processing Rare Earths – Niobium and Tantalum
• Come from Minerals in Carbonatites, Pegmatites, placer deposits, clays
• Concentration step usually involves flotation or gravity separation to get the rare earth minerals
• Minerals are leached with acids or caustics– HF and Sulfuric acid are used in hot pressure leaches
for Niobium and Tantalum– Often there will be some selective precipitation/
filtering step to get out impurities– Separating rare earths involves liquid-liquid solvent
extractions– Final precipitation and calcining step to produce dry
oxide clumps
More Carbonatite Intrusives
• Iron and Titanium can settle and drop out at the bottom of a carbonatite intrusive
• This can also happen with mantle origen ocean type theolitic basalts– Basalt does not come to surface and settles out the
bottom layer in a chamber
• Titanium minerals and Zircon are very weathering resistant and form placers– If ocean is retreating back can form big area beach
sand placers
Beach Placers Grade Tonnage
About 80 to 700Million tonnes(they are big)
Ore Grade
Around 2% plus TiO2 before concentrate making
Deposits Also Include Zircon
About 0.25 to 0.9%ZrO2 in place
IlmeniteCrystalline Massive
FeTiO3 31.6% Titanium, 36.8% IronColor BlackHardness 5-5.5S.G. 4.72Non Fluorescent Weakly MagneticStreak Brownish Black
Brookite
TiO2 59.9% TitaniumColor Brown, Reddish Brown, OrangeHardness 5.5-6S.G. 4.11Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak Yellowish White
Rutile
TiO2 59.9% Titanium(just a different crystal structure)Color Red, Violet, Bluish, Yellowish BrownHardness 6-6.5S.G. 4.25Non-Fluorescent Non-MagneticStreak Grayish-Black
Anatase
TiO2 59.9% TitaniumColor Black, Gray, Darkblue, Redish orYellowish BrownHardness 5.5-6S.G. 3.9 Streak pale yellowish white
Non Fluorescent Non Magnetic
Titanite
Official CaTiSiO5 Actual Ca0.95REE0.05Ti0.75Al0.2Fe3.05SiO4.9F0.1
18.2% Titanium 3.6% Rare EarthsColor Red, Green, Yellow, Gray, Red-BrownHardness 5-5.5 S.G. 3.5Weak Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak redish-white
Zircon
ZrSiO4 Zicronium 43.4% Hafnium 4.7%La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm about 3.8%Color Brown, Reddish brown, Colorless, Gray, Green. Hardness 7.5S.G. 4.6 - 4.7, Average = 4.65
FluorescentNon MagneticStreak White
Uses
• Zircon mineral is useful of itself– Valuable for ceramics and refractories (major
world use)
• As a metal zirconium resists corrosion– It is a neutron absorber and is used in nuclear
reactor fuel rod coatings.
• As an oxide its high reflectivity makes it useful in glass and fiber optics
Production and Reserves of Zirconium
Zirconium Production and Reserves
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
Production Reserves/40
Met
ric
To
nn
es
Other
Ukraine
South Africa
Indonesia
India
China
Brazil
Australia
United States
What is Zircon Concentrate Worth?
Zirconium Concentrate Value
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
19
18
19
27
19
36
19
45
19
54
19
63
19
72
19
81
19
90
19
99
20
08
$2
00
9/l
b
ZirconiumConcentrate Value
About 25 cents per pound
Processing Titanium
• Titanium minerals are heavy– Gravity separation is popular– Method of choice for basic concentrates
• Ilmenite is weakly magnetic– High intensity magnetic separators can pull it.
• Chemically based wash to remove surface coatings on minerals
What is Titanium Used for?
Uses of Titanium Minerals
Pigments
Welding Rods/ Metal/Chemicals
If We Are Going to Titanium Metal(Kroll Process)
Titanium concentrates and coke (a relatively pure carbon) are put into aChlorination tower - CO reduces TiO2 similar to a blast furnace whileChlorine forms TiCl4
Magnesium Reduction
Titanium metal is then vaporized andDistilled under vacuum to furtherPurify.
Crushing and Casting
Shape the Titanium into ingots
Recycling the Magnesium Chloride
Electrolyze the salts to make magesium and chlorine to recycle
What are Our Reserves
Ilmenite Production and Reserves
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
Production Reserves/100
Th
ou
san
ds
of
Met
ric
To
nn
es T
iO2
Other
Vietnam
Ukraine
South Africa
Norway
Mozambique
Madagascar
India
China
Canada
Brazil
Australia
United States
Rutile Production and Reserves
Production and Reserves of Rutile
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Production Reserves/100
Th
ou
san
ds
of
Met
ric
To
nn
es T
iO2
Other
Ukraine
South Africa
Sierra Leone
Mozambique
India
Brazil
Australia
United States
What is Titanium Worth?
Titanium Value
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
1939
1946
1953
1960
1967
1974
1981
1988
1995
2002
$200
9 p
er L
b
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Titanium DioxideValue
Titanium MetalValue
About $1/lb
About $9/lb
Lepidolite
K(Li,Al)3(Si,Al)4O10(F,OH)2 3.6% Lithium
Color Lilac, yellowish, gray-whiteHardness 2.5-3S.G. 2.84Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak White
Weird Pegmatites
• Pegmatites are granatoid rocks with very large crystals
• Some of the pegmatites associated with solutions high in lithium– Late stages of cooler left tabular dikelike
pegmatite intrusions with some unusual lithium rich minerals.
Spodumene
LiAl(Si2O6) 3.7% LithiumColor white, grayish white, yellow, green, blue, lilac, pink Hardness 6.5-7 S.G. 3.1Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak clear
PetaliteLiAlSi4O10 2.1% Lithium
Color Colorless, Gray,Yellow, Yellow gray, White
Hardness 6-6.5S.G. 2.42Non FluorescentNon MagneticStreak Clear
Amblygonite
(Li,Na)Al(PO4)(F,OH) 3.44% Lithium
Color White, Yellow, Gray, Bluish gray, Greenish gray. Hardness 5.5-6S.G. 3.04Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak White
Eucryptite
LiAlSiO4 5.5% Lithium
Color Brown, Colorless, White. Hardness 6.5S.G. 2.67Fluorescent Non-MagneticStreak White
Lithium Brines Recovery
What is Lithium Used For
Lithium Uses
Ceramic Glass
Batteries
Lithium Grease
Air Treatment
Casting
Aluminum Production
Other
How is Lithium Processed
• Spodumene resources– Floatation is used to get a spodumene concentrate– Concentrate is calcined– Calcined concentrate is treated with sulfuric acid
• Makes Lithium sulfate
– Add Soda ash is added to produce lithium carbonate (a major trade chemical)
– Lithium carbonate is chlorinated to make Lithium Chloride salt
– Molten salt is electroylzed form metal
Brine Lithium
• Evaporation– Start with 500 ppm Li– Precipitate Halite– Precipitate Sylvite– Get 6% Lithium solution– Pricipitate lithium salts
What are Reserves and Production
Lithium Production and Reserves
0.00
5000.00
10000.00
15000.00
20000.00
25000.00
Production Reserves/500
Me
tric
to
nn
es
Zimbabwe
Portugal
China
Chile
Canada
Brazil
Australia
Argentina
United States
What is Lithium Worth?
Lithium Value
0.001.002.003.004.005.006.007.008.009.00
10.00
1952
1958
1964
1970
1976
1982
1988
1994
2000
2006
$200
9 p
er L
b
Lithium Value
About $1 to $3 per Lb
More Weird Pegmatites
• Beryllium is often present in the same kinds of Pegmatite intrusives as Lithium
• Another type of deposit (which is currently producing most of worlds beryllium)– Ryolite flow on surface– Hydrothermal solutions deposited bedded
Bertrandite mineral
Beryl
Be3Al2Si6O18 5% BerylliumColor Green, Blue, Yellow, Colorless, Pink Hardness 7.5-8S.G. 2.76Non-Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak White
Bertrandite
Be4Si2O7(OH)2 15.1% Beryllium
Color Colorless, Pale yellow. Hardness 6-7S.G. 2.59Non Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak White
Beryllium Uses
• About ½ is used in electronics and computer components
• Another large portion is used to make super high strength and heat resistant alloys for aerospace and defense
• Also used in industrial and automotive electronics and appliances
Processing Beryllium
• Crush, grind, and slurry bertrandite• Treat at steam heated high temperature with
sulfuric acid to form beryllium sulfate• Filter and settle out the solids• Use solvent extraction which removes the
beryllium from solution– High temperature needed to speed the process
• Add ammonium carbonate to the solution to strip out Beryllium as (NH4)Be(CO3)
Continued
• Heat the solution to 70 C to bring down iron and aluminum as precipitates
• Use hydrolysis steps to remove the ammonium and CO2
• Beryllium hydroxide forms– It is filtered out of solution– Beryllium hydroxide is the major chemical
feedstock for most beryllium processes
Production and Reserves
Beryllium Production and Reserves
020406080
100120140160180
Production Reserves/100
Met
ric
To
nn
es
Mozambique
China
United States
What is Beryllium Worth
Beryllium Value
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
19
35
19
42
19
49
19
56
19
63
19
70
19
77
19
84
19
91
19
98
20
06
$2
00
9 p
er
Lb
Beryllium Value
About $150 to $200 / lb of contained Beryllium
Another Zoned Pegmatite
• Cousins to rare earth deposits – Cesium– All current production is from Bernic Lake in
Canada– Zimbabwa has occurrences as does U.S.
Pollucite
(Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12•(H2O) 28% Cesium about 1.2% RubidiumColor Colorless, White, Gray, Pale pink, Blue.Hardness 6.5 S.G. 2.9Fluorescent Non MagneticStreak White
Uses of Cesium
• High density low viscosity brines for oil and gas drilling
• Biomedical research and cancer treatment
• Used in Photodetectors– Infared– Night vision
Prices and Processing Techniques are a bit shaky specialty product
Cesium Value
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
$200
9/lb
Cesium Value
No regular market but some of the trade prices are quite high
Cryolite Locations
Only commercial deposit – granetic pegmatite intrusive vein
Cryolite
Na3AlF6 Color Brownish black, Colorless, Gray, White, Reddish brown.Hardness 2.5-3 S.G. 2.97Fluorescent Non Magnetic Streak White
Uses
• Cryolite is a key flux in making Aluminum– Needed to lower the melting temperatures of
the Hall Heroult pot lines
• Natural supplies cannot keep up and all current supply is synthetically made.
