Yu, Yan;
Li, Yang;
Liu, Yu;
Ling, Xiao-Xiao;
Wu, Li-Guang;
Yang, Li;
Yang, Lan;
... Li, Xian-Hua; + view all
(2024)
Three-stage niobium mineralization at Bayan Obo, China.
National Science Review
, 11
(4)
, Article nwae063. 10.1093/nsr/nwae063.
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Abstract
The Chinese Bayan Obo deposit is a world-class rare earth element (REE) deposit with considerable niobium (Nb) and iron (Fe) resources. A complete genetic understanding on all metals is fundamental for establishing genetic models at Bayan Obo. With extensive research being focused on REE enrichment, the timing and controls of Nb enrichment remain unresolved at Bayan Obo, which is mainly due to the challenges in dating, i.e. multistage thermal events, fine-grained minerals with complex textures and the rare occurrence of uranium-enriched minerals with mature dating methods. Based on robust geological and petrographic frameworks, here we conducted ion probe uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating of ferrocolumbite to unravel the timing, hence the genesis of Nb mineralization. Three types of hydrothermal ferrocolumbites—key Nb-bearing minerals—are identified based on their textures and mineral assemblages. They yield U-Pb ages of 1312 ± 47 Ma (n = 99), 438 ± 7 Ma (n = 93), and 268 ± 5 Ma (n = 19), respectively. In line with deposit geology, we tentatively link the first, second and third stage Nb mineralization to Mesoproterozoic carbonatite magmatism, ubiquitous early Paleozoic hydrothermal activity, and Permian granitic magmatism, respectively. While quantifying the contribution of metal endowment from each stage requires further investigation, our new dates highlight that multi-stage mineralization is critical for Nb enrichment at Bayan Obo, which may also have implications for the enrichment mechanism of Nb in REE deposits in general.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Three-stage niobium mineralization at Bayan Obo, China |
| Location: | China |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1093/nsr/nwae063 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae063 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Niobium mineralization, U-Pb dating, ferrocolumbite, Bayan Obo |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10203304 |
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