Fluid inclusion and LA ICP MS data on mineralising fluids of the Bizmisen Iron Deposit (Erzincan, Central Anatolia) Turkey
Current European manufacturing relies heavily on imports from China for unprocessed rare earth elements (REEs) and rare earth oxides (REOs) It has been suggested that the EU holds viable reserves of REEs that, with adequate research, could satisfy 10% of EU demand, by the recycling of mine waste from bauxite production (red muds) alone (Deady 2014) Focus has been turned to the potential for similar South China type laterite deposits being exploited in the EU, but limited exploration and understanding of EU laterite formations currently makes them unattractive to investment (Humphries 2013) Following early work by Bernard Griffiths (BernardGriffiths 1996) into the REE content of the Cretaceous Serra deMonchiqueNepheline Syenite intrusion, this project examines the clay mineralogy and geochemistry of a selection of pedogenic profiles, logging their variations in mineralogy, bulk chemistry and specific REE content and comparing them to currently producing regions in Southern China. Investigation is under way using a five stage sequential leach ICP MS method to identify REE hosting minerals and mineralogical hosting phases, supported byXRDanalysis ofmineralogy and clay structures. Initial results indicate similarities in clay hosted REE distributions through laterite profiles to other researched formations in Madagascar (Berger 2014) and China (Zhou 2013) where specific organic rich (acidic) soils and biogenic profiles of tropical (rainforest) environments were presented as a key factor for REE mobilisation during pedogenesis. Serra de Monchique has a unique climate, with similar seasonal rainfall and cycling, but is not a rainforest, nor in a tropical region. It is therefore hypothesised that classic REE distribution models may also be applied to non classic environments for this deposit type, supporting the hypothesis of Herrington (Herrington 2007) that China type REE hosting ionadsorption clay profiles could exist across Europe in novel and previously unresearched environments.