Rare earths are among the world's most sought after raw materials. In the Valais Binntal three hobby researchers have found in large numbers minerals.
The mineral collectors know the knight pass in the Binntal for a long time. It is one of the most well-known find areas in Switzerland. Now, three amateur minerals have made a sensational discovery. Ate van der Burgt, Mischa Crumbach and Stéphane Cuchet found rare-earth (SE) crystals in the area. It is true that SE minerals have been detected in this area, but not to this extent and not in such an unusual type of mineralization. It is an approximately 250 million-year-old deposit of sands with heavy minerals. These became solid rocks during the formation of the Alps. An unusual process meant that the once microscopic mineral grains grew to more than 10 centimeters.
The locality extends around the stone desert of the Ritterpass over two kilometers. Other occurrences were discovered up to eight kilometers away in southern Binntal and on Alpe Veglia in Italy, as the three researchers describe in the latest issue of the journal "Schweizer Strahler". In addition, they have discovered four minerals that have never been found in Switzerland.
Not so rare rare earths
Rare earths are metals that are not so rare in the earth's crust, as the name suggests. For example, there are more of the rare earth metal cerium than copper. The concentration of these elements in the rock, however, is in very few places large enough to operate a mining economically. And even where the quantities make the mining prospective, their extraction is very costly and delicate.
However, these rare earths are highly sought after, because the metals are used as materials in the most diverse high-tech areas. They are found in catalysts and in plasma TVs, in superconductors, batteries and cell phones. They are also used in medical magnetic resonance equipment or in wind turbines. Currently high prices are paid. China, by far the most important producer of rare earths, is accused of intentionally scarifying the raw material. The high demand and the high price have meanwhile led to the production of once again abandoned mines outside the People's Republic. The question of whether a reduction could therefore be worthwhile in the Binn valley, according to the latest finds on.
15 various minerals containing rare earth have been discovered van der Burgt, Crumbach and Cuchet so far on Ritterpass, especially with the elements cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and yttrium. These are embedded in sometimes beautiful crystals of the minerals Allanit, Bastnäsit, Synchisite, Monazite, Xenotim or other mineralogical «exotics».
Politically hardly feasible
The sites are located on 2500 meters above sea level, several hours away from any road, in the Binntal landscape park and in the Italian Parco dell'Alpe Veglia e dell'Alpe Devero nature park. Crucial to the question of the economic efficiency of the mining of rare earths is how many grams of the raw material can be extracted from a certain amount of rock. Mischa Crumbach estimates the occurrences at the Ritterpass to a maximum of three grams of degradable metal oxide per kilogram. "That's not economically viable today. In addition, the height and seclusion of the knight pass would make a dismantling extremely difficult. »
So far, concentrations in the Binntal valley have been found to be up to 0,3 grams of metal oxide per kilogram of rock. But even three grams are little. For comparison, a deposit in Greenland currently under discussion for mining contains 11 grams per kg of rock. In addition, the deposit is approximately ten times the volume of the Ritterpass in terms of volume - and therefore contains more metal oxide via 30.
That an investor might be interested in mining in the Binn valley is highly unlikely, according to the current state of knowledge. In addition, it would be legally and politically difficult to obtain a mining permit for the Swiss and Italian nature park areas. Crumbach and his colleagues are not unhappy about that. A large-scale mining industry could seriously affect the still intact landscape and severely pollute the environment. For mineralogists and hobby researchers, the discovery is still valuable. It may help to better understand the genesis of such SE mineralization. And maybe then somewhere else appropriate deposits can be identified.
(Tages-Anzeiger)
(Created: 10.07.2014, 07: 28 clock)
Source: http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wissen/natur/Begehre-Rohstoffe-in-den-Alpen-entdeck/story/17357028
