Niobium and tantalum are two rare metals that have similar physical and chemical properties and occur together in nature. They are considered to be strategic and critical materials for the economy and national security of many industrial countries. B...
The Saima alkaline rock-hosted niobium–tantalum deposit (hereafter referred to as the Saima Deposit) is situated in the Liaodong Peninsula, which constitutes the eastern segment of the northern margin of the North China Craton. The rock types o...
The characteristics of Baiyun Obo niobium-bearing minerals are complex physicochemical properties that make the beneficiation of niobium minerals extremely difficult. In this paper, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and mineral liberation analyze...
With the development of the steel industry, China’s demand for niobium is increasing. However, domestic niobium resources are not yet stably supplied and are heavily dependent on imports from abroad (nearly 100%). It is urgent to develop domest...
The Saima deposit is a newly discovered niobium deposit which is located in the eastern of Liaoning Province, NE China. Its mineralization age and geochemical characteristics are firstly reported in this study. The Nb orebodies are hosted by the grey...
This study investigated the combined effects of adding niobium–fluoride (NbF5) nanoparticles to a pit-and-fissure sealant. One resin sealant was reinforced with varying amounts of nanoparticles (0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 wt%). The surface hardness (SH)...
Alkaline rocks are generally enriched in rare metals (e.g., Nb, Ta, and Zr) and rare earth elements (REE), but the key factors controlling Nb-Ta-REE enrichment remain unclear. The Boziguoer Nb (Ta-Zr-Rb-REE) deposit in Southwest Tianshan (northern ma...
The crystal structure of shkatulkalite has been solved from the crystal from the Lovozero alkaline massif, Kola Peninsula, Russia. The mineral is monoclinic, P2/m, a = 5.4638(19), b = 7.161(3), c = 15.573(6) Å, β = 95.750(9)°, V = 606....
The Giraúl granitic pegmatite field in Angola is composed of five pegmatite types, the most evolved belong to the beryl-columbite, beryl-columbite-phosphate and spodumene types. Pegmatites are concentrically zoned with increased grain size tow...
Demand for niobium and tantalum is increasing exponentially as these are essential ingredients for the manufacture of, among others, capacitors in technological devices and ferroniobium. Mine tailings rich in such elements could constitute an importa...
Niobium and tantalum are mainly produced from columbite–tantalite ores, and 60% of their production is nowadays located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The concentration of supply, the scarcity, the wide range of use in all elec...
In order to rationally develop and utilize a Ta–Nb–Li–Rb rare metal deposit in Jiangxi Province, the mineralogical characteristics of the ore, such as chemical composition, mineral composition, modes of occurrence of major elements,...
Niobium oxides are promising materials for applications within various research fields, especially as electrocatalysts for various chemical reactions. The tuning of the synthetic parameters can achieve a successful compromise between morphology and s...
This article is devoted to the geology of titanium-rich varieties of the Petyayan-Vara rare-earth dolomitic carbonatites in Vuoriyarvi, Northwest Russia. Analogues of these varieties are present in many carbonatite complexes. The aim of this study wa...
Lithium-bearing polymetallic pegmatite ores are an important raw material for lithium extraction. They contain not only lithium but also other associated elements such as beryllium, tantalum, and niobium, with great recovery values. It is therefore o...
In order to realize sustainable development, it is beneficial to explore an appropriate process to recover the radionuclides contained in tantalum-niobium slag. By micro-mineralogical analysis and roasting experiments, the effect of uranium-thorium l...
Rare metals such as lithium and beryllium are strategic mineral resources that play a highly significant role in the national aerospace, defense, and new energy industries. The western Kunlun–Songpan–Ganzi metallogenic belt is an importan...
The objective of the present work was to investigate a possible processing route for a currently discarded material, niobium mineral tailings containing rare earth elements, from the largest niobium producer worldwide (CBMM), for use as a raw materia...
Bayan Obo is a well-known polymetallic deposit containing significant quantities of rare earth elements, niobium, thorium, and iron. However, the epoch in which mineralization occurred and the mineralization process are still debated due to the compl...
Niobium (Nb), a transition element, has been applied mainly as steel additive, among other cutting-edge applications. Nb is mainly produced from pyrochlore-containing ores, dominated by mines at Araxá, Catalão (both from Brazil), and Ni...
Sufficient supplies of critical raw materials (CRMs) for rapidly developing technologies, e.g., Li-ion batteries, wind turbines, photovoltaics, digitization, etc., have become one of the main economic challenges for the EU. Due to growing import depe...
A large Nb–Ta ore deposit was found in the Yushishan leptynite in the west Qilian Orogenic Belt (QOB). Based on a field geological survey and using a Mineral Liberation Analyser (MLA, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-disp...
With the continuous development of easily accessible resources, the exploitation of complex mineral resources, metallurgical waste slag containing high-value metals, and secondary resources is gradually becoming a mainstream trend. Due to the complex...
The growing demand for critical raw materials (rare earth elements—REE, Nb, Ta, and others) enforces a need to look for their alternative sources. Distortions of the mineral supply chain caused by COVID-19 have necessitated a re-evaluation of what ex...
At Arvogno, Vigezzo valley in the Central Alps, Italy, pegmatite dikes are unique in the scenario of a tertiary alpine pegmatite field because they show marked geochemical and mineralogical niobium–yttrium–fluorine features. These pegmati...
The Shuangshan alkaline complex located in the Henan province of China is a newly discovered, potentially giant niobium (Nb) deposit. A variety of Nb-bearing minerals including pyrochlore, zircon, and titanite have been identified in this deposit. Di...
As Bayan Obo rare-earth tailings, which are generated after the production of mineral products with the raw ore from different mining areas, are considered secondary resources rich in valuable elements such as F, Fe, REE, and Nb, an effective method...
Pegmatite ores, the primary and technologically advanced lithium (Li)-bearing minerals, comprise various rare metal-based elements, including niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), tin (Sn), and beryllium. With increasing Li demand, global exploitation of pegm...
Sulfuric acid curing and leaching is a promising technology for treating refractory ores. In this work, a refractory concentrate containing 3191 ppm uranium (U), 2135 ppm niobium (Nb), and 0.7% rare earth minerals (REMs) went through two stages: curi...
Niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) are quoted as “strategic” or “critical” elements for contemporaneous society. The main sources of Nb and Ta are minerals of the pyrochlore supergroup (PSGM) and the columbite group (CGM) mined fr...
The fluids in of pegmatite rare metal deposits are generally rich in rare metal elements and volatiles (B, P, F, H2O, CO2, etc.), and they have a high capacity for dissolving and migrating rare metals. The Dakalasu No. 1 rare metal pegmatite vein is...
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a simple and straightforward technique of atomic emission spectroscopy that can provide multi-element detection and quantification in any material, in-situ and in real time because all elements emit in t...
The Taqian–Zhuxi–Fuchun metallogenic belt in northeastern Jiangxi Province contains significant ore deposits that are closely associated with the Gaohushan granites. The Gaohushan granites predominantly consist of two-mica granites and ha...
Tin slags generated during cassiterite smelting in Brazil contain significant amounts of technologically important metals such as niobium, tantalum, and zirconium. Improper disposal of these materials represents both an environmental concern and the...
Columbite crystals from niobium-yttrium-fluorine (NYF) pegmatites lacking zircon or containing metamict cyrtolite were analyzed for major and minor elements (Electron Microprobe (EMP)), trace elements (Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass S...
Abundant Li-Cs-Ta aplite-pegmatite dykes were emplaced in the western Central Iberian Zone of the Iberian Massif during the Variscan Orogeny. Their origin and petrogenetic relationships with the widespread granitoids have led to a currently rekindled...
The Chinese Altay is located in the western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and preserves critical records of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO) Plate evolution during the Paleozoic era. This region also hosts significant mineral deposits,...
Eudialyte-hosted critical metal deposits potentially represent major sources of rare earth elements (REE), zirconium and niobium. Here, we study the chemical and isotopic composition of fresh and altered eudialyte in nepheline syenite from the Ilímau...