Aiguo Shi, Cheng Xu, Chaoxi Fan, A. Chakhmouradian, M. Brenna, Chun-wan Wei
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Structural Defects of Heavy Rare Earth Element Minerals in Granite Accelerate Their Decomposition and Facilitate Mineralization During Weathering
Heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), an indispensable resource for modern industry, are extracted mainly from clays in ion adsorption deposits (IADs) in South China. The HREEs in IADs are derived from accessory minerals in parental granites. These precursor HREE phases have low solubility in aqueous environments, and unraveling the mechanism of their decomposition during weathering is critical to understanding how IADs form. Here, we report the micro- to nanoscale structural characteristics of HREE precursor minerals in parental granites from the large Zudong and Zhaibei IADs. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that these minerals are characterized by abundant structural defects that range from lattice dislocations to submicro- to nanoscale crystallite aggregates with a variable proportion of amorphous material. Ubiquitous structural defects make the precursor HREE minerals unstable during weathering, resulting in their rapid decomposition, thereby facilitating the development of clay-hosted mineralization.
期刊介绍:
The journal, now published semi-quarterly, was first published in 1905 by the Economic Geology Publishing Company (PUBCO), a not-for-profit company established for the purpose of publishing a periodical devoted to economic geology. On the founding of SEG in 1920, a cooperative arrangement between PUBCO and SEG made the journal the official organ of the Society, and PUBCO agreed to carry the Society''s name on the front cover under the heading "Bulletin of the Society of Economic Geologists". PUBCO and SEG continued to operate as cooperating but separate entities until 2001, when the Board of Directors of PUBCO and the Council of SEG, by unanimous consent, approved a formal agreement of merger. The former activities of the PUBCO Board of Directors are now carried out by a Publications Board, a new self-governing unit within SEG.