Kangankunde (Record #123) rare-earth element deposit in Malawi

Kangankunde

Carbonatite with residual enrichment rare earth element deposit in , Malawi

Geographic location

Country	Malawi
Geographic location:	34.916667, -15.133333
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Location references

Jackson, W.D., and Christiansen, Grey, 1993, International strategic minerals inventory summary report-- Rare-earth oxides: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 930-N, 68 p.

Geologic characteristics

Deposit type	Carbonatite with residual enrichment
Age of deposit	Late Cretaceous- 123 ± 6 Ma (K-Ar, phlo)
REE minerals	monazite bastnäsite florencite-goyazite daqingshanite
Ore minerals	strontianite staurolite fluorite barite sphalerite apatite pyrochlore
Gangue minerals	dolomite quartz manganese oxides calcite
Host rock types	dolomitic carbonatite fenite

Nearby scientific information

Geologic map unit	34.916666666667, -15.133333333333
Other databases	Find additional scientific data near this location

Economic information

Status	REE-Sr resource
Resource estimates	11 Mt @ 1.97% REO 11 Mt @ 5% mon (1983) 11 Mt @ 0.62% REO

References for resource estimates

Notholt, A.J.G., Highley, D.E., and Deans, T., 1990, Economic minerals in carbonatites and associted alkaline igneous rock: Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B- Applied Earth Science, v. 99, p. B59-B124.
Jackson, W.D., and Christiansen, Grey, 1993, International strategic minerals inventory summary report-- Rare-earth oxides: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 930-N, 68 p.
Singer, D.A., 1998, Revised grade and tonnage model of carbonatite deposits: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-0235, 7 p.

Comments

Mon almost thorium-free. Carbonatite contains average of 7% euhedral green mon crystals. High iron content. Locally, REE of hydrothermal origin.

Bibliographic references

Anstett, T.F., 1986, Availability of rare-earth, yttrium, and related thorium oxides - market economy countries: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular 9111, 19 p.
Castor, S.B., 1994, Rare earth minerals, in Carr, D.D., ed., Industrial minerals and rocks, 6th edition: Littleton, Colorardo, Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploratin, Inc., p. 827-839.
Notholt, A.J.G., Highley, D.E., and Deans, T., 1990, Economic minerals in carbonatites and associted alkaline igneous rock: Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, Section B- Applied Earth Science, v. 99, p. B59-B124.
de Kun, N., 1987, Mineral economics of Africa: New York, Elsevier, Developments in Economic Geology 22, p. 241-243.
Neary, C.R., and Highley, D.E., 1984, The economic importance of the rare earth elements, in Henderson, P., ed., Rare earth element geochemistry: New York, Elsevier, Developments in Geochemistry 2, p. 423-466.
Mariano, A.N., 1989, Economic geology of rare earth minerals, in Lipin, B.R., and McKay, G.A., eds., Geochemistry and mineralogy of the rare earth elements: Washington, D.C., Mineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy 21, p. 309-348.
Pell, Jennifer, 1996, Chapter 13- Mineral deposits associated with carbonatites and related alkaline igneous rocks, in Mitchell, R.H., ed., Undersaturated alkaline rocks: Mineralogy, petrogenesis, and economic potential: Mineralogical Association of Canada Short Course 24, p. 271-310.
Wall, F., and Mariano, A.N., 1996, Rare earth mienrals in carbonatites: a discussion centred on the Kangankunde Carbonatite, Malawi, in Jones, A.P.,
Woolley, A.R., 2001, Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the world-- Part 3: Africa: London, The Geological Society, 372 p.
Deans, T., 1966, Economic mineralogy of African carbonatites, in Tuttle, D.F., and Gittens, J., eds., Carbonatites: New York, Interscience, p. 385-413.
Mariano, 1996