Mount Weld

Prospect in Western Australia, Australia with commodities Phosphorus-Phosphates, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, REE, Zirconium
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Materials information
  7. Host and associated rocks
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  10. Ownership information
  11. Reserves and resources
  12. Links to other databases
  13. Bibliographic references
  14. General comments
  15. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10023262
MRDS ID I000060
Record type Site
Current site name Mount Weld

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: 122.5453, -28.86008 (WGS84)
Relative position 34 KM SOUTHEAST OF LAVERTON.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Western Australia(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia Western Australia

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Phosphorus-Phosphates Primary
Niobium (Columbium) Critical Primary
Tantalum Critical Primary
REE Critical Secondary
Zirconium Critical Secondary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Monazite Ore

Analytical data

Result MONAZITE HAS LOW THORIUM LEVELS, LESS THAN 0.3% THORIUM OXIDE.

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metasedimentary Rock
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Neoarchean
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Metavolcanic Rock
  • Host or associated Associated
    Rock type Metamorphic Rock > Serpentinite
  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Plutonic Rock > Carbonatite, Intrusive

Nearby scientific data

(1) 122.5453, -28.86008

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Prospect
Commodity type Both
Significant No
Discovery year 1966

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Carr-Boyd Minerals Ltd. (62%)

Reserves and resources

  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1989
    Measured 6310000000mt ore
    Total resources 250000000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    REE REE 16.2 wt-pct REE Minor 1989
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1990
    Total resources 1600000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    REE REE 29 wt-pct REE Minor 1990
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1991
    Total resources 13000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    REE REE 23.6 wt-pct REE Minor 1991
  • Type In-situ
    Estimate year 1988
    Inferred 6100000000mt ore
    Commodity Subtype Grade units Group Importance Year
    Niobium (Columbium) Nb 1.86 wt-pct Niobium (Columbium) Major 1988
    Tantalum Ta 0.099 wt-pct Tantalum Major 1988
    REE REE 4.23 wt-pct REE Minor 1988

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • 1988 RESERVE ESTIMATES RESTRICTED TO WEATHERED ROCK HORIZONS AND IS BASED ON LOGNORMAL KRIGING OF 25 M SQUARE BLOCKS ON 3 M BENCHES USING A SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF 1.4 T/CUBIC METER.

Comments on development

  • DISCOVERED FROM REGIONAL AEROMAGNETIC SURVEY ; ECON.COM: IN 1989, FULL-SCALE FEASIBILITY STUDY UNDER WAY. THE COMPANY ALSO AIMING TO FURTHER PROCESS THE ORE TO PRODUCE SEPARATED OXIDES AND METALS. COMPLETION OF FEASIBILITY STUDIES, MARKET SURVEYS, AND GOVERNMENT PERMITS ARE EXPECTED IN 1992. MINE IS EXPECTED TO HAVE A 30 YEAR LIFE WITH 3 MONTHS OF MINING EACH YEAR. CAPITAL EXPENDITURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE A$50 MILLION.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    ROBJOHNS, NICOLA, 1990, RARE EARTHS, IN SPECIALTY METALS: METALS & MINERALS ANNUAL REVIEW - 1990, P. 78-80.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1990, WORLD OF MINERALS: NO. 272, P. 8.

  • Deposit

    STEWART, G.N., 1990, AUSTRALIA, IN PACIFIC AND AUSTRALASIA: MINING ANNUAL REVIEW 1990, P. 80.

  • Deposit

    MINING JOURNAL, 1989, INDUSTRY IN ACTION: V. 313, NO. 8031, P. 84.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1989, WORLD OF MINERALS: NO. 257, P. 10-11.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1988, WORLD OF MINERALS: NO. 253, P. 8-9.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1988, WORLD OF MINERALS: NO. 252, P. 16.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1991, WORLD OF MINERALS: NO. 286, P. 8.

  • Deposit

    DUNCAN, R.K., AND WILLET, G.D., 1990, MOUNT WELD CARBONATITE, IN HUGHES, F.E., ED., GEOLOGY OF THE MINERAL DEPOSITS OF AUSTRALIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA, VOLUME 1: AUSTRALASIAN INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY MONOGRAPH 14, P. 591-597.

  • Reserve-Resource

    ROBJOHNS, 1990, FOR FIRST TWO FIGURES; INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1990, FOR THIRD AND FOURTH FIGURES; FIFTH FIGURE FROM STEWART, 1990. 1988 RESERVE FIGURES ARE FROM INDUSTRIAL MINERALS (1988, 1989) AND INDICATED RESERVES POSTDATE INFERRED RESOURCES; DUNCAN AND WILLET, 1990;

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit RESOURCE ESTIMATIONS ARE RESTRICTED TO THE WEATHERED ROCK HORIZON. OVERBURDEN IS IN THE 40-50 M RANGE. DEPOSIT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN FORMED BY SUPERGENE PROCESSES IN THE REGOLITH OF A CARBONATITE OR VOLCANIC PIPE THAT IS 4 KM IN DIAMETER. THE CENTRAL LANTHANIDE DEPOSIT COVERS AN AREA OF 1 SQ KM OF THE CARBONATITE REGOLITH AND VARIES SYSTEMATICALLY IN GRADE AND THICKNESS AND COMPRISES A SUITE OF PHOSPHATIC RARE EARTH-BEARING MINERALS. THE MINERALIZATION OCCURS FROM 30 TO 75 M DEPTH WITH SOME THICKER SECTIONS EXTENDING TO A DEPTH OF 100 M. DEPOSIT ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SAMARIUM, EUROPIUM, NEODYMIUM, AND ERBIUM. THE WEATHERED CAP (A LATERITIC REGOLITH UP TO 90 M THICK, LCRET-ETERT IN AGE) OF THE CARBONATITE ALSO HAS A CONSIDERABLE PHOSPHATE RESOURCE WHICH IS SPATIALLY SEPARATE FROM THE RARE EARTHS.
Deposit ADDITIONAL GEOLOGIC INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN DUNCAN AND WILLETT, 1990. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-SEP-1990 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey }CORRECTED LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
Updater 01-APR-1994 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Updater 01-MAY-1994 Preston, W. Western Australia Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.