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Zim to commence rare earth minerals exploitation

05 Feb, 2018 - 14:02 0 Views
Zim to commence rare earth minerals exploitation

eBusiness Weekly

Tawanda Musarurwa
HARARE – Battery minerals company, Prospect Resources says it is set to begin exploration of rare earth minerals in Dorowa.

This is the second significant move by the ASX-listed company in respect of its Zimbabwe projects in as many weeks after announcing that it had raised $10 million for the lithium project for the Arcadia Lithium Project last week.

“Prospect Resources is….preparing to commence exploration at its Chishanya carbonatite project in the southeast of Zimbabwe, with a focus on determining the Rare Earth Element (“REE”) potential of the site,” said the company in a notice to shareholders today.

“Previous work carried out by the Company at the project was focused on identifying copper mineralisation as well as the phosphate potential within apatite, and has not been assessed before for its REE potential.”

The REE project (Chishanya Project) is located close the operating Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Phosphate Mine at Dorowa. The company’s permits cover the central portion of Chishanya Hill, as well as the ground immediately north and west of it.

Rare Earth Elements refers to a group of 17 chemically-similar elements, including the 15 elements in the Lanthanide Series, and also scandium and yttrium because of their similar properties.

They do not occur naturally as metallic elements, but occur in a wide range of minerals, including halides, carbonates, oxides, phosphates and silicates.

REEs are increasing significant minerals in the global economy insofar as they are used in small quantities in a variety of high technology growth industries, namely for making powerful permanent magnets for lightweight electric motors, phosphors for TV monitors, catalysts for cars and chemical refineries, rechargeable batteries for hybrid and electric cars, generators for wind turbines, as well as numerous optical, medical and military devices.

The Chishanya carbonatite lies in the Buhera district in the southeast of the country, 25km north of Birchenough Bridge.

Prospect holds 10 claims forming just over 220 hectares, covering the majority of the carbonatite   complex here

Carbonatites are igneous rocks comprised over 50 percent carbonate minerals. Typically, they form circular plugs, with zoned variable alkalic rocks and associated cross cutting dykes and often show extensive wall-rock alteration. 

Many of them host significant abundances of apatite, magnetite, barite and fluorite that may contain anomalous concentrations of phosphates, REEs, niobium, uranium, thorium, fluorite, barite, vermiculite and occasionally copper. The REEs occur in minerals such as bastnaesite, allanite, apatite and monazite.

“The carbonatite at Chishanya has not been investigated before for its potential as a host for this suite of mineralisation, though apatite mineralisation has been mapped and assayed for its phosphate potential,” said Prospect.

According to agmetalminer.com the REE sector has been dominated for decades by China, who currently control over 90 percent of the world’s supply but as the market continues to grow steadily their dominance is slipping and there is recognised strategic benefit in discovering REE sources outside of China.

The outlook for dysprosium and neodymium, which are used in magnets in electric motors, seems to be particularly positive with prices for neodymium and praseodymium oxide rising over 80 percent last year.

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