Mount Weld mine is a rare earth mine in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, located about south of
Laverton and east of
Leonora. It ranks as one of the richest major
rare-earth
The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or (in context) rare-earth oxides or sometimes the lanthanides (yttrium and scandium are usually included as rare earths), are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous silve ...
deposits in the world.
Rare earths are contained in secondary
phosphates
In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid .
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...
and
aluminophosphates, presumably derived from
weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
of the
Proterozoic
The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided ...
Mount Weld
carbonatite
Carbonatite () is a type of intrusive rock, intrusive or extrusive rock, extrusive igneous rock defined by mineralogic composition consisting of greater than 50% carbonate minerals. Carbonatites may be confused with marble and may require geoche ...
. The primary commercial interest at the site is targeted towards oxides as well as further
niobium
Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has sim ...
and
tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is ...
deposits within the intrusive pipe of the Mount Weld carbonatite, which is approximately three kilometers (1.9 mi) in diameter.
The main deposits are hosted within the soil and
regolith
Regolith () is a blanket of unconsolidated, loose, heterogeneous superficial deposits covering solid rock. It includes dust, broken rocks, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, Mars, some asteroids, and other terrestria ...
horizon that blankets the entire carbonatite and form shallow lenses within of the surface. The most important rare-earth oxide deposit, the Central Lanthanide Deposit, CLD, is located at the center of the carbonatite with the niobium/tantalum and other deposits generally located towards outer fringes. Discovered in 1988, the CLD represents a spectacular enrichment of rare-earth deposit sediments. The deposit is believed to be the largest and highest grade of its type in the world.
The Mount Weld deposit is owned by ASX-listed
Lynas Corporation
Lynas Rare Earths, Ltd. is an Australian rare-earths mining company, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange as a S&P/ASX 200 company. It has two major operations: a mining and concentration plant at Mount Weld, Western Australia, ...
, which raised A$450 million equity from
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
in 2009
[ to fund the development of a mine and also a processing plant in ]Kuantan
Kuantan ( Jawi: ) is a city and the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. It is located near the mouth of the Kuantan River. Kuantan is the 18th largest city in Malaysia based on 2010 population, and the largest city in the East Coast of Penin ...
, Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Once operational, the Mount Weld mine is expected to be the largest source of rare-earth elements outside of China.
Mining began at the Mount Weld site in 2011.''Mt Weld rare earths mine officially open''
Australian Mining, 5 August, 2011.
References
Further reading
*{{cite book , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Dht90VG2jvEC&pg=PA64 , title = Australia Mineral and Mining Sector Investment and Business Guide , isbn = 978-0-7397-5067-4 , author1 = I.B.P. U.S.A. , date = January 2006
External links
MINEDEX website: Mt Weld REE / LynasDatabase of the
Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety is a department of the Government of Western Australia. The department was formed on 1 July 2017, out of the former Department of Mines and Petroleum and Department of Commerce.
A restr ...
Surface mines in Australia
Mines in Western Australia
Rare earth mines
Shire of Laverton