Mountain Pass (Record #59) rare-earth element deposit in California, United States

Mountain Pass

Carbonatite rare earth element deposit in California, United States

Geographic location

Country	United States
State or province	California
Geographic location:	-115.533333, 35.483333
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Location references

Woolley, A.R., 1987, Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the world; Part 1, North and South America: London, United Kingdom, British Museum of Natural History, 216 p.

Geologic characteristics

Deposit type	Carbonatite
Age of deposit	Proterozoic-- 1400 Ma
REE minerals	bastnäsite parisite monazite sahamalite allanite cerite
Ore minerals	barite siderite strontium barite barium celestite titanite magnetite hematite galena pyrite chalcopyrite tetrahedrite malachite azurite cerussite wulfenite fluorite strontianite apatite thorite
Gangue minerals	calcite dolomite ankerite quartz crocidolite chlorite biotite phlogopite muscovite talc aegirine goethite aragonite
Host rock types	carbonatite

Nearby scientific information

Geologic map unit	-115.53333333333, 35.483333333333
Other databases	Find additional scientific data near this location

Economic information

Status	Current producer
Company	Molycorp (2000)
Resource estimates	Proven + probable-- 29 Mt @ 8.9% REO (5% cutoff) >40 Mt @ 7.68% REO 28 Mt @ 8.86% REO 28.1 @ 12% bas or 8.9% REO (1989) 90 Mt @ 5% REO

References for resource estimates

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.
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.
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.
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.

Bibliographic references

Olson, J.E., Shawe, D.R., Pray, L.C., and Sharp, W.N., 1954, Rare-earth mineral deposits of the Mountain Pass district, San Bernardino County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 261, 75 p.
Woolley, A.R., 1987, Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the world; Part 1, North and South America: London, United Kingdom, British Museum of Natural History, 216 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.
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.
Möller, P., 1989a, Rare earth mineral deposits and their industrial importance, in
Haxel, G.B., 2002, Ultrapotassic rocks, carbonatite, and rare earth element deposit, Mountain Pass, California, in Theodore, T.G., editor, Geology and mineral resources of the East Mojave National Scenic Area, San Bernardino County, California: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2160 [in press].