The Starset SocietyBy: Rhodilee Jean Dolor
An iron-rich magma that can be found within extinct volcanoes holds promise in solving mankind’s dependence on planet-warming technologies and energy sources.
In a new study, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported that the mysterious type of magma can hold abundant supplies of rare earth elements and possibly serve as a new source of these in-demand materials.
Rare Earth Elements
Rare earth elements are crucial in the development of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines. These alternative power sources do not rely on fossil fuels.
Rare earth elements are also used in a range of devices such as smartphones, TVs, flat screens, digital cameras, magnets, batteries and even trains.
Rare earth metals are in fact not rare at all. They are quite common but extracting them is challenging and expensive because they are commonly found in low concentration.
“Just finding rare earths isn’t enough—you need to have enough of them, you need to have them in the correct minerals, and ideally in a place where mining is feasible. Middle of the desert, good, sensitive rainforest not so much,” said study researcher Michael Anenburg, from ANU, according to Newsweek.
China is known to have the biggest deposit of rare earth elements and accounts for about 95% of the world’s production, but other countries are now looking for other sources of rare earths amid concerns that being too reliant on China’s supply could have serious consequences.
Japan experienced this in 2010 when custom officials in China halted shipments of rare earth elements to pressure the Japanese government into releasing a detained Chinese fishing trawler captain.
“By stopping the shipments, they’re disrupting commercial contracts, which is regrettable and will only emphasize the need for geographic diversity of supply,” Dudley Kingsnorth, executive director of the Industrial Minerals Company of Australia, told the New York Times at the time.
A Hundred Times More Efficient
In the new study published in Geochemical Perspectives Letters on Sept. 24, Anenburg and colleagues reported about a new discovery that could open up more avenues for extracting rare earth elements.
The researchers said that iron rich magma that solidified in some extinct volcanoes could be up to a hundred times more efficient at concentrating rare earth elements compared with magmas from active volcanoes.
“We have never seen an iron-rich magma erupt from an active volcano, but we know some extinct volcanoes, which are millions of years old, had this enigmatic type of eruption,” Anenburg said. “Our findings suggest that these iron-rich extinct volcanoes across the globe, such as El Laco in Chile, could be studied for the presence of rare earth elements.”
The researchers made the discovery after simulating volcanic eruptions in the laboratory. Anenburg and his team placed rocks similar to those from iron-rich extinct volcanoes into a pressurized furnace and then used extremely high temperatures to melt them.
When the rocks melted, they absorbed all the rare earth elements from their surroundings, suggesting that iron-rich magma is highly efficient at concentrating rare earth elements. In practice, however, the researchers said that the actual abundance of rare earths should be tested on a case-by-case basis.
“Now that we know that iron-rich volcanoes should be rare earth-rich, now is a good time to target them for exploration,” Anenburg said.
Anenburgalso clarified that not all extinct volcanoes have iron-rich magma, but iron-rich extinct volcanoes may be studied for presence of rare earth elements.
“But I would say that every one of the iron-rich volcanoes deserves a look, remembering the usual risk in mineral exploration that only a handful of all discoveries actually end up as a profitable operating mine,” Anenburg said.
Rocks that are rich in rare earth elements have been unexpectedly found in iron mines that sit on extinct iron-rich volcanoes in Kiruna, Sweden and El Laco, Chile. The discovery prompted the researchers to conduct further investigation.
“In many cases when we find rare earth elements or metals in general, we find them by accident,” said Anenburg, according to Live Science. “Those mines are mining iron oxide. They’re mining magnetite. They never looked [to see] if they even have any rare earth elements.”
Recycling Rare Earth Elements
Aside from mining, recycling is another means of extracting rare earths. Li-Hua Chen, from Peking University in China, and colleagues said that rare earth elements can be sourced from devices such as old phones.
“We suggest that, as in-ground stocks decline among mineral suppliers, the accumulation of in-use stocks in consuming regions can foster a more balanced and less polarized geopolitical landscape for rare-earth elements,” the researchers wrote in their study published in Nature Geoscience on Jan. 24.
Crucial Piece In Efforts Against Climate Change
Many countries are now investing in renewable energy technologies. The situation, along with world’s appetite for devices, is anticipated to fuel demand for rare earth elements.
In her 2022 State of the European Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen emphasized the importance of raw materials, including rare earth elements in fulfilling the EU’s goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by cutting emissions, investing in technologies and protecting the environment.
“Without secure and sustainable access to the necessary raw materials, our ambition to become the first climate neutral continent is at risk,” von der Leyen said.
“Lithium and rare earths will soon be more important than oil and gas. Our demand for rare earths alone will increase fivefold by 2030.”
