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Kathryn E. Watts

Publications and source records attributed to Kathryn E. Watts.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2026

Zircon petrochronology fingerprints mantle sources of magmatic rare earth element deposits

The mantle sources of carbonatite and alkaline magmatic systems that host rare earth element (REE) deposits are difficult to constrain because whole-rock compositions are commonly altered. Alteration-resistant zircon trace-element compositions are used to fingerprint mantle sources at Mountain Pass, California, the largest REE deposit in the United States, and extend this approach to a global carbonatite−alkaline rock dataset. Autocrystic zircon samples from the Mountain Pass intrusive suite record subduction-like U-Sc-Nb-Yb compositions, oxidized fO2 (0.8−2.4 relative to fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer [ΔFMQ]), and Ti-in-zircon temperatures up to ∼970 °C, indicating a lithospheric mantle source enriched and oxidized by Paleoproterozoic subduction and subsequently tapped during Mesoproterozoic postcollisional lithospheric thinning. This contrasts with the ocean island basalt−like enriched mantle recorded by Mesoproterozoic zircon from the Bayan Obo carbonatite complex, China, demonstrating that world-class REE deposits of comparable age can reflect fundamentally different mantle sources. New classifiers separate subduction-metasomatized from non-subduction-enriched mantle domains with ∼90% accuracy, providing a zircon-based tool for fingerprinting the mantle source regions of magmatic REE deposits.

Geology↗
USGS2026

Insights into Mountain Pass carbonatite formation from in-situ sulfur isotopes and geochemistry of sulfate and sulfide minerals

The Mountain Pass carbonatite stock hosts a world-class rare earth element deposit and may be classified as a carbonate-sulfate igneous rock, as it contains on average > 50 volume percent carbonate minerals and 20 to 30 volume percent sulfate minerals. The sulfates range in composition from barite to celestine and locally occur with sparse sulfide minerals. We investigate the origin of sulfur enrichment and the occurrence of sulfur-bearing minerals in the Mountain Pass carbonatite with in-situ sulfur isotope and mineral chemistry. Barite cores with δ 34 S of 1 to 3‰ do not coexist with sulfides, whereas celestine rims with δ 34 S of > 3‰ are associated with sulfides with δ 34 S < -10‰. We propose a model in which sulfur-bearing sediments were subducted during episodes of plate convergence in the Mojave Province that preceded Mountain Pass magmatism. Metasomatism of the overlying mantle by melts derived from the subducted sediments generated an unusually carbon- and sulfur-rich source to yield carbonatite magmas. Sulfur from primary carbonatite magmas and ~ 1 to 7% sulfur from subducted sediment melts yielded a slightly enriched δ 34 S composition (relative to depleted mantle δ 34 S of -1‰) for early crystallizing barite. Celestine rims on magmatic barite cores formed at low, hydrothermal temperatures (< 350 °C) based on S isotope thermometry for equilibrium celestine-galena and celestine-pyrite pairs. The sparse sulfides in the carbonatite stock are not in equilibrium with the primary barite cores and therefore do not permit S isotope thermometry estimates of magmatic temperatures. The S/Se ratios of sulfide minerals (> 3,400) typically exceed primitive mantle values (S/Se of 3,340), also consistent with their derivation from hydrothermal fluids. Trace occurrences of sulfide and sulfate minerals in alkaline silicate stocks related to the carbonatite stock have similar δ 34 S compositions and yield similarly low formation temperatures, suggesting regionally extensive and chemically similar sulfur-bearing hydrothermal fluids that imparted lithologically diverse rocks with a consistent sulfur isotope fingerprint.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2026

Complex carbonate ore mineralogy in the Mountain Pass carbonatite rare earth element deposit, USA

Economic concentrations of rare earth element (REE) minerals are uncommon in the Earth’s crust, with most occurring in carbonatites. Unlike most igneous rocks composed of silicate minerals, carbonatites are dominated by carbonate minerals, some of which can incorporate significant light REEs (LREEs; La, Ce, Pr, Nd). Technological applications of REEs are numerous and they have been identified as some of the most critical mineral commodities to the global economy. The Mountain Pass carbonatite stock in the Mojave Desert of California is the most economically significant REE deposit in the USA and contains a few to tens of percent (by volume) of the carbonate REE ore mineral bastnäsite. Despite the economic significance of the Mountain Pass deposit, studies of its ore mineralogy are limited. Here we present new carbonate ore mineralogy data for a compositionally diverse suite of carbonatitic rocks from the Mountain Pass stock and related dikes. Whole-rock geochemical data are integrated with mineral-scale textural and chemical data obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), and microRaman spectroscopy. Our results document a complex spectrum of REE-bearing carbonate minerals and intermediate mixed-layer structures. Mineral species include bastnäsite [REE(CO 3 )F], hydroxylbastnäsite [REE(CO 3 )OH], parisite [Ca(REE) 2 (CO 3 ) 3 F 2 ], synchysite [Ca(REE)(CO 3 ) 2 F], röntgenite [Ca 2 (Ce,La) 3 (CO 3 ) 5 F 3 ], and sahamalite [(Mg,Fe 2+ )(REE) 2 (CO 3 ) 4 ]. Carbonate ore mineralogy is heterogeneous within and between samples, including at the intracrystal scale. Complexly zoned crystals exhibit as many as five to six different compositional domains and syntaxial intergrowths, commonly with the more Ca-rich varieties (parisite, synchysite) forming crystal rims that surround relict bastnäsite cores. We attribute the phenocryst variability to changes in the chemistry and temperature of primary carbonatite magmas and evolved/exsolved fluids. Cross-cutting vein textures of calcite, celestine and various REE carbonate minerals, interstitial bastnäsite crystallization, breccia blocks lined by fine-grained bastnäsite, and the presence of hydroxylbastnäsite and partially hydroxylated bastnäsite point to the role of secondary hydrothermal processes in REE mineralization. Fluorcarbonate mineral compositions demonstrate that La and Ce are more structurally abundant in bastnäsite, whereas the more Ca-rich species (parisite, synchysite) contain a greater proportion of REE heavier than Pr (Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd) and Y. Atomic ratios of Pr/(Nd + Pr) are likewise variable, with the highest average value for bastnäsite (0.25) compared to parisite (0.22) and sychysite (0.21). This finding has geometallurgical implications, given that current mining operations are focused on recovery of Nd and Pr for high field strength permanent magnets and the Nd/Pr ratios are a critical factor in ore processing and magnet manufacture.

California↗
USGS2026

In-situ geochronology using LA-ICP-MS/MS: Application of the Lu-Hf system in carbonate, apatite and fluorite

Geochronology is a fundamental tool for reconstructing earth history and constraining the timing of ore deposit formation. Traditionally, U-rich minerals like zircon, titanite, monazite and apatite have been analysed to determine the timing of mineralization and alteration events. However, not all deposits or alteration assemblages contain these minerals, and the U-Pb system can be disturbed due to open system behaviour. We present a methodology for obtaining in-situ Lu-Hf dates from various minerals to demonstrate the potential for dating ore deposits that lack U-rich minerals. Carbonate, apatite and fluorite minerals from different tectonic settings and geological environments were analysed. We acquired Lu-Hf and REE (rare earth element) data from carbonate minerals from a carbonatite orebody and dike samples from the Mountain Pass REE carbonatite deposit in California, USA. We also tested a ‘double-dating’ method, where U-Th-Pb dates and Lu-Hf dates were obtained from the same analysis of apatite from rocks in the Michigan’s Great Lakes Tectonic Zone. Preliminary results for Lu-Hf dating of fluorite from carbonatite rocks in the Lemitar Mountains of New Mexico are also included. The analytical methodology shows promising results in each of these cases where there is sufficient parent Lu and U and measurable daughter Hf and Pb respectively.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2025

Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera

Renewable energy technologies rely on the extraction of metals not historically in high demand, such as lithium (Li), for which ore deposit models are incompletely understood. One of the world’s largest Li deposits is hosted in lake sediments of the 16.4 Ma McDermitt caldera, which formed during the early stages of Yellowstone hotspot volcanism in the western United States. Eruptive and posteruptive mobility of Li are major challenges in elucidating deposit formation. Melt inclusions preserved in quartz crystals provide a means to assess pre-eruptive magmatic Li contents. Concentrations of Li determined by ion microprobe for melt inclusions in a McDermitt rhyolite lava are 400−1350 ppm, compared to 20−70 ppm Li in matrix rhyolite glasses. Synthesis with melt inclusion data for eight additional calderas demonstrates a recurrence of Li-rich rhyolitic magmas (200−2000 ppm Li) in the western part of the Yellowstone hotspot track. However, unlike the multicyclic caldera complexes with overlapping fault networks that may have compromised Li retention, the McDermitt caldera remained a closed hydrologic system throughout its evolution. Modeling indicates 100 km 3 of resurgent magma could yield 25−150 Mt Li in a magmatic fluid and supports accumulation of Li-rich magmatic fluid in a closed intracaldera lake, followed by evaporative concentration and sequestration of Li within clay minerals to generate the McDermitt deposit.

Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming↗
USGS2025

Geochemistry and radiogenic isotopes constrain the mantle source region of the Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite, California

The Mountain Pass carbonatite stock is the largest rare earth element (REE) deposit and only active REE mine in the United States. The carbonatite intrusion and spatially associated alkaline silicate intrusions constitute the Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite, which is located within the Mojave Province in California. Both the carbonatite and the alkaline silicate rocks are enriched in large ion lithophile elements and light REEs, and less enriched to depleted in high field strength elements, indicating the mantle source region was metasomatically enriched in incompatible trace elements. The cause of this metasomatic mantle enrichment and the genetic relationship between the carbonatite and the alkaline silicate stocks are poorly understood. In this study, major and trace element geochemical data and isotopic (Rb-Sr, Sm-Nd, and Lu-Hf) data are presented to constrain genesis of the Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite, from mantle source region to the intrusion of the stocks. Our geochemical data are consistent with derivation of the alkaline silicate and carbonatite melts through partial melting from a shared mantle source region rather than through liquid immiscibility or fractional crystallization and separation of a carbothermal fluid. Although the Rb-Sr isotopic system in the Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite is disturbed at the whole-rock scale, the isotopic systems for whole-rock Sm-Nd (εNd i = ‐2.2 ± 0.8) and zircon Lu-Hf (εHf i = 0.1 ± 1.1) are robust and support mantle derivation of the magmas. Geochemical modeling using experimentally derived partition coefficients was used to identify possible causes of enrichment in incompatible elements through metasomatism in the mantle source region. Modeling of metasomatism by melts derived by partial melting of deeply subducted carbonated sediments approximates observed Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite trace element chemistry. Scattered εHf i in inherited zircon (2.8 ± 2.6) is consistent with derivation from an arc-related environment with substantial crustal contamination. Paleotectonic studies in the Mojave Province indicate that regional subduction preceded emplacement of the Mountain Pass Intrusive Suite by ∼300 Ma. Melting of the Mountain Pass source region may have been caused by post-collisional thermal relaxation and extension.

California↗
USGS2025

Fingerprinting magmatic REE deposit sources with zircon petrochronology

Carbonatites and associated alkaline silicate rocks are of considerable economic interest due to their enrichments in rare earth elements. The petrogenesis and source(s) of these complexes, however, are poorly understood. Models propose either mantle plume-derived carbon-rich melts or a mantle source enriched by subduction-related metasomatism. We use zircon trace elements to fingerprint carbonatite-alkaline complex sources, focusing on the economically significant 1.4 Ga Mountain Pass intrusive suite (MPIS). Autocrystic zircon from MPIS alkaline silicate rocks are enriched in Th and U relative to Nb suggesting a subduction influenced, oxidized source region. Lower Sc/Yb, higher Ti concentrations, and the absence of Eu anomalies in autocrystic zircon suggest derivation from a less hydrous, hotter, and deeper mantle source relative to arc-related 1.8–1.6 Ga inherited zircon. These data are best explained by syn- to post-collisional Mesoproterozoic reactivation of a subduction-metasomatized mantle source. The source and tectonic setting of the MPIS contrasts with Mesoproterozoic Gifford Creek and Bayan Obo carbonatites which exhibit plume-like compositions and are associated with rifts, suggesting different sources and tectonic settings for these economically significant deposits. We demonstrate that zircon petrochronology is a robust method for distinguishing carbonatite sources and can inform more targeted exploration strategies for critical mineral resources.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2025

Stable isotope composition and geochemistry of calcite and dolomite in the Mountain Pass carbonatite: A lens into petrogenesis

Carbonatites host most of the global rare earth element (REE) deposits. The petrogenesis of these rocks, including magmatic and post-magmatic processes, are poorly understood but critical in forming and upgrading these deposits. The Mountain Pass carbonatite, which hosts the only active REE mine in North America, is lithologically variable but consistently contains >50% calcite and/or dolomite. Multiple generations of carbonates are evident, suggesting bulk analysis of carbonate minerals would generate a mixed isotopic and geochemical signature. In-situ stable carbon and oxygen isotopes, combined with geochemical analysis and petrography, distinguish carbonate generations, trace the source region of the carbonatite magma, and link carbonate genesis to REE mineralization throughout the intrusion. Primary carbon and oxygen isotope values outside the accepted mantle range may suggest a subduction-related carbon and oxygen source in the mantle. Deformation textures in primary calcite indicate syn- or post-crystallization ductile flow. Carbonates with secondary textures and heavy δ 13 C and δ 18 O values are associated with ore mineralization, suggesting fluid mobilization was important in concentrating REE and upgrading of the Mountain Pass deposit.

California↗
USGS2024

Mafic alkaline magmatism and rare earth element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California: The Bobcat Hills connection to Mountain Pass

Occurrences of alkaline and carbonatite rocks with high concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) are a defining feature of Precambrian geology in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. The most economically important occurrence is the carbonatite stock at Mountain Pass, which constitutes the largest REE deposit in the United States. A central scientific goal is to understand the genesis of the carbonatite ore body in the context of widespread REE-rich igneous activity. A swarm of mafic alkaline (shonkinite) dikes has been mapped and sampled at Bobcat Hills, 65 km southeast of the Mountain Pass mine. Whole-rock geochemistry and zircon geochronology demonstrate a clear affinity to the ca. 1.4 Ga Mountain Pass intrusive system. Bobcat Hills dikes have comparably high REE concentrations (La ∼1,000× chondritic) and an error-weighted mean 207 Pb/ 206 Pb zircon crystallization age of 1,426 ± 2 Ma (2 σ ). Unlike the alkaline intrusions at Mountain Pass, which have abundant inherited zircon from Paleoproterozoic basement rocks and crustally influenced oxygen isotope compositions (δ 18 O zircon = 6.5–7.5‰), the Bobcat Hills dikes lack any evidence of crustal assimilation and have oxygen isotope values that overlap a mantle range (Bobcat Hills average δ 18 O zircon = 5.6 ± 0.3‰). The dikes were a high-temperature, early center of mafic alkaline magmatism in the Mojave Desert that serve as a snapshot of melt generation from a spatially extensive, metasomatized mantle source. We propose that modification of the crust over many tens of Myr at Mountain Pass created an environment that favored crustal assimilation and enabled ascent of late-stage, REE-rich carbonatite magmas.

California↗
USGS2024

Apatite and monazite geochemistry record magmatic and metasomatic processes in rare earth element mineralization at Mountain Pass, California

The largest rare earth element (REE) deposit in the United States is a carbonatite intrusion at Mountain Pass in the Mojave Desert, California. Despite a clear spatiotemporal association of alkaline silicate and carbonatite intrusions at Mountain Pass, a genetic model of their mutual formation has not been resolved. The Mountain Pass carbonatite has long been upheld as an example of a primary magmatic body, but recent work has suggested it could be fluid-derived. This study investigates the geochemistry of apatite and monazite grains from the alkaline silicate and carbonatite stocks and dikes of the Mountain Pass district, to elucidate the magmatic history of the intrusive suite and identify the role of fluids in rare earth element mineralization. Three apatite populations are identified in the alkaline silicate rocks. A primary magmatic apatite group supports intrusion of the stocks as separate pulses of magma derived from a spatially extensive metasomatized mantle source region. The second group implicates the role of a regional fluid that mobilized light rare earth elements from apatite grains. A minor group of inherited apatite cores, identified by low Sr and negative Eu anomalies, supports assimilation of crustal material in the formation of the intrusive suite. Analyses of monazite and apatite grains from the carbonatite orebody also reveal a mix of primary magmatic and metasomatic (fluid-related) minerals. Compositional similarities between primary phosphates in the carbonatite and alkaline silicate rocks support a genetic link between the intrusive suites. The presence of fluids regionally and within the carbonatite orebody indicates the Mountain Pass carbonatite should not be classified as a purely magmatic REE deposit.

Arizona, California, Nevada↗
USGS2023

Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA

Carlin-type gold deposits (CTDs) of Nevada are the largest producers of gold in the United States, a leader in world gold production. Although much has been resolved about the characteristics and origin of CTDs in Nevada, major questions remain, especially about (1) the role of magmatism, whether only a source of heat or also metals, (2) whether CTDs only formed in the Eocene, and (3) whether pre-Eocene metal concentrations contributed to Eocene deposits. These issues are exemplified by the CTDs of the Cortez region, the second largest concentration of these deposits after the Carlin trend. Carlin-type deposits are notoriously difficult to date because they rarely generate dateable minerals. An age can be inferred from crosscutting relationships with dated dikes and other intrusions, which we have done for the giant Cortez Hills CTD. What we term “Cortez rhyolites” consist of two petrographic-geochemical groups of siliceous dikes: (1) quartz-sanidine-plagioclase-biotite-phyric, high-SiO 2 rhyolites emplaced at 35.7 Ma based on numerous 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates and (2) plagioclase-biotite-quartz ± hornblende-phyric, low-SiO 2 rhyolites, which probably were emplaced at the same time but possibly as early as ~36.2 Ma. The dikes form a NNW-trending belt that is ~6 to 10 km wide × 40 km long and centered on the Cortez Hills deposit, and they require an underlying felsic pluton that fed the dikes. Whether these dikes pre- or postdated mineralization has been long debated. We show that dike emplacement spanned the time of mineralization. Many of both high- and low-SiO 2 dikes are altered and mineralized, although none constitute ore. In altered-mineralized dikes, plagioclase has been replaced by kaolinite and calcite, and biotite by smectite, calcite, and marcasite. Sanidine is unaltered except in a few samples that are completely altered to quartz and kaolinite. Sulfides present in mineralized dikes are marcasite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, and As-Sb–bearing pyrite. Mineralized dikes are moderately enriched in characteristic Carlin-type elements (Au, Hg, Sb, Tl, As, and S), as well as elements found in some CTDs (Ag, Bi, Cu, Mo), and variably depleted in MgO, CaO, Na 2 O, K 2 O, MnO, Rb, Sr, and Ba. In contrast, some high-SiO 2 rhyolites are unaltered and cut high-grade ore, which shows that they are post-ore. Both mineralized and post-ore dikes have indistinguishable sanidine 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates. These characteristics, along with published interpretations that other giant CTDs formed in a few tens of thousands of years, indicate the Cortez Hills CTD formed at 35.7 Ma. All Cortez-area CTDs are in or adjacent to the Cortez rhyolite dike swarm, which suggests that the felsic pluton that fed the dikes was the hydrothermal heat source. Minor differences in alteration and geochemistry between dikes and typical Paleozoic sedimentary rock-hosted ore probably reflect low permeability and low reactivity of the predominantly quartzofeldspathic dikes. Despite widespread pre-35.7 Ma mineralization in the Cortez region, including deposits near several CTDs, we find no evidence that older deposits or Paleozoic basinal rocks contributed metals to Cortez-area CTDs. Combining our new information about the age of Cortez Hills with published and our dates on other CTDs demonstrates that CTD formation coincided with the southwestern migration of magmatism across Nevada, supporting a genetic relationship to Eocene magmatism. CTDs are best developed where deep-seated (~6–8 km), probably granitic plutons, expressed in deposits only as dikes, established large, convective hydrothermal systems.

Nevada↗
USGS2022

Temporal and petrogenetic links between Mesoproterozoic alkaline and carbonatite magmas at Mountain Pass, California

Mountain Pass is the site of the most economically important rare earth element (REE) deposit in the United States. Mesoproterozoic alkaline intrusions are spatiotemporally associated with a composite carbonatite stock that hosts REE ore. Understanding the genesis of the alkaline and carbonatite magmas is an essential scientific goal for a society in which critical minerals are in high demand and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. We present an ion microprobe study of zircon crystals in shonkinite and syenite intrusions to establish geochronological and geochemical constraints on the igneous underpinnings of the Mountain Pass REE deposit. Silicate whole-rock compositions occupy a broad spectrum (50–72 wt % SiO 2 ), are ultrapotassic (6–9 wt % K 2 O; K 2 O/Na 2 O = 2–9), and have highly elevated concentrations of REEs (La 500–1,100× chondritic). Zircon concordia 206 Pb/ 238 U- 207 Pb/ 235 U ages determined for shonkinite and syenite units are 1409 ± 8, 1409 ± 12, 1410 ± 8, and 1415 ± 6 Ma (2 σ ). Most shonkinite dikes are dominated by inherited Paleoproterozoic xenocrysts, but there are sparse primary zircons with 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ages of 1390–1380 ± 15 Ma for the youngest grains. Our new zircon U-Pb ages for shonkinite and syenite units overlap published monazite Th-Pb ages for the carbonatite orebody and a smaller carbonatite dike. Inherited zircons in shonkinite and syenite units are ubiquitous and have a multimodal distribution of 207 Pb/ 206 Pb ages that cluster in the range of 1785–1600 ± 10–30 Ma. Primary zircons have generally lower Hf (<11,000 ppm) and higher Eu/Eu* (>0.6), Th (>300 ppm), Th/U (>1), and Ti-in-zircon temperatures (>800°C) than inherited zircons. Oxygen isotope data reveals a large range in δ 18 O values for primary zircons, from mantle (5–5.5‰) to crustal and supracrustal (7–9‰). A couple of low- δ 18 O outliers (2‰) point to a component of shallow crust altered by meteoric water. The δ 18 O range of inherited zircons (5–10‰) overlaps that of the primary zircons. Our study supports a model in which alkaline and carbonatite magmatism occurred over tens of millions of years, repeatedly tapping a metasomatized mantle source, which endowed magmas with elevated REEs and other diagnostic components (e.g., F, Ba). Though this metasomatized mantle region existed for the duration of Mountain Pass magmatism, it probably did not predate magmatism by substantial geologic time (>100 m.y.), based on the similarity of 1500 Ma zircons with the dominantly 1800–1600 Ma inherited zircons, as opposed to the 1450–1350 Ma primary zircons. Mountain Pass magmas had diverse crustal inputs from assimilation of Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic igneous, metaigneous, and metasedimentary rocks. Crustal assimilation is only apparent from high spatial resolution zircon analyses and underscores the need for mineral-scale approaches in understanding the genesis of the Mountain Pass system.

California↗
USGS2021

Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California

A new quantitative mineral resource assessment for tungsten, a critical mineral commodity with highly concentrated production and a moderate risk of global supply disruption, was conducted for the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California. This assessment was part of a larger effort focusing on three regions in the United States and represents the first study of domestic tungsten resources and mineral potential in over twenty years. By integrating geology, bedrock and stream sediment geochemistry, geophysics, and remote sensing data with recently developed software tools and analyses, estimates of undiscovered tungsten skarn deposits in permissive tracts are combined with grade and tonnage distributions of known deposits to generate probabilistic estimates of undiscovered resources. Identified resources in the Great Basin region total 168 thousand metric tons (kt) of tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ), including 116 kt of past production and 52 kt remaining in place. Consistent with the historic significance of the Great Basin region as a past producer containing a large portion of U.S. identified resources, undiscovered resources are likely to occur adjacent to known deposits and prospects and at unexplored depths. Undiscovered deposits are estimated to contain median resources of 940 kt of WO 3 with a 90% probability of at least 420 kt and a 10% probability of at least 1.7 million metric tons (Mt), of which 240 kt to 1.1 Mt may be economic to extract. Based on a 20-year average price, median recoverable undiscovered resources are estimated at 570 kt WO 3 equivalent with a net present value of $3 billion U.S. dollars. The methods, data, results, and economic significance of the assessment contribute to a scientific understanding of a critical mineral resource with direct implications for policy and land management decisions.

California, Nevada↗
USGS2020

Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralization

Voluminous silicic magmatism was coeval with iron ore mineralization in the St. Francois Mountains terrane in southeast Missouri, part of the broader Mesoproterozoic Granite-Rhyolite province along the eastern margin of Laurentia. Some of the iron deposits contain extraordinary endowments of critical elements, such as the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit, which has an average grade of ~12 wt% rare earth oxides in breccia pipes that flank the ore body. To assess the role of silicic magmatism in the genesis of the Pea Ridge deposit, we present a high-spatial resolution study of zirconhosted melt inclusions from rhyolitic ash-flow tuffs. Melt inclusion data are combined with textural, geochemical, and geochronological analyses of zircon hosts to elucidate the magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of the Pea Ridge system. Two contemporaneous silicic igneous centers in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, Bourbon and Eminence, were studied for comparison. Pea Ridge melt inclusions are trachydacitic to rhyolitic (~63-79 wt% SiO2, ~5.6-11.7 wt% Na2O+K2O) with very high Cl in the least-evolved and most alkaline melt inclusions (~2,000-5,000 ppm Cl). Rare earth elements (REE) in melt inclusions have identical chondrite-normalized patterns to the mineralized breccia pipes, but with systematically lower absolute concentrations. Haplogranite ternary pressures range from ~0.5-10 kbar, with an average of ~2-3 kbar (7-12 km depth), and liquidus temperatures are ~850-950 °C, with an average of ~920 °C. Silicate and phosphate mineral inclusions have compositions that overlap minerals from the iron ore body and breccia pipes, recording a transition from igneous to hydrothermal zircon growth. Igneous iron oxide inclusions have compositions that indicate Pea Ridge magmas were reduced to moderately oxidized (log fO2 of -0.8 to -1.84 NNO). Zircons from two Pea Ridge samples have 207Pb/206Pb concordia ages of 1456 ± 9 Ma and 1467 ± 13 Ma that overlap published ages for the breccia pipes and iron ore zones of the Pea Ridge deposit. A population of texturally and chemically disrupted zircons have discordant domains that correspond to high Fe, U, and REE concentrations, consistent with the unique geochemical attributes of the IOA-REE ore body. Inherited cores in Pea Ridge and Bourbon zircons have concordant 207Pb/206Pb dates of 1550-1618 Ma, providing direct evidence of cratonic basement beneath these centers. Oxygen isotope data for inherited and autocrystic igneous zircons span from mantle to crustal values (18Ozircon=5.5-7.9‰). Our data are consistent with a model in which metasomatized mantle components were mixed with cratonic and accreted crustal material in a back-arc or rifted segment of a volcanic arc, with ore fluids derived from Cl-rich melts to transport Fe and REE in a long-lived (tens of Myr), pulsed, magmatic-hydrothermal system. Bourbon, which also possesses IOA mineralization, shares key petrologic similarities with the Pea Ridge system, whereas Eminence, which is not mineralized, has disparate geochemical and isotopic signatures that indicate it formed in a different crustal setting. The location of Pea Ridge and Bourbon along a cratonic margin may have been important in focusing silicic melts and mineralization in the upper crust, serving as a guide for future exploration efforts.

Missouri↗
USGS2020

Apatite trace element geochemistry and cathodoluminescent textures—Acomparison between regional magmatism and the Pea Ridge IOA-REE andBoss IOCG deposits, southeastern Missouri iron metallogenic province, USA

The southeast Missouri iron metallogenic province contains a remarkable wealth of historically important Fe, Cu, Au, and rare earth element (REE) deposits including the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite-rare earth element (IOA-REE) deposit and the Boss iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposit. These deposits are coeval with silicic and intermediate composition magmatism in the St. Francois Mountains terrane. Magmatism, iron-oxide (±Cu, Au, Co) and apatite formation, and REE mineralization overlapped in space and time, but the specific role of regional magmatism in the metallogenesis of these deposits remains unclear and basic petrogenetic models are still debated. We report results from high-spatial resolution textural and geochemical analyses of apatite from regional igneous and ore rocks to elucidate their petrogenetic histories and evaluate deposit models. Backscattered electron and spectral cathodoluminescence imaging of apatite reveal no primary igneous zoning, but show different domains with intricate rims and dissolution/reprecipitation textures, each with distinctive REE patterns in many samples. Apatite from all samples are nearly endmember fluorapatite containing up to ~1.3 wt% Cl and F/Cl ratios span nearly three orders of magnitude. Fresh igneous fluorapatite contain low Na2O (0.15 wt%) while most Pea Ridge ore samples contain higher Na2O (up to ~0.45 wt%), and concentrations of sulfur in fluorapatite of all types are generally moderate to low (0.3 wt% SO3). Significant amounts of Fe (60,000 ppm), Mg (30,000 ppm), Mn (7,000 ppm), and Sr (12,000 ppm) are contained in fluorapatite of all sample types, and they also have moderate amounts of As (4,000 ppm), Ba (2,000 ppm), Th (400 ppm), and U (80 ppm). Fluorapatite show an extraordinarily large range of REE (~0.1-2.0 wt%) and Y (~100-7000 ppm) concentrations. While fresh igneous fluorapatite share many geochemical features with metasomatized igneous fluorapatite and ore-stage fluorapatite from the Pea Ridge IOA and Boss IOCG ore zones, they also have distinct geochemical signatures that are indicative of unique trace element partitioning and substitution mechanisms. These distinguishing textural and geochemical signatures preclude ore-zone fluorapatite genesis directly from a magma (i.e., crystallization directly from a silicate melt) but are permissive of ore-zone fluorapatite formation by magmatic-hydrothermal fluids derived from the regional magmas. Basinal brines may play an important role in the formation of fluorapatite, especially from the Pea Ridge hematite and Boss magnetite-rich zones. Fluorapatite from different ore zones likely formed by crystallization during pulses of hydrothermal fluids with varying Cl-, Na-, and F-contents, which fundamentally controlled the carrying capacity and solubility of REE+Y and generated geochemically distinctive generations of fluorapatite. Exploration geologists using fluorapatite trace element geochemistry to identify IOA and IOCG deposits should proceed with caution, as more high-quality data from these deposits are needed to improve multivariate discrimination analysis. Fluorapatite from IOA/IOCG deposits can be reasonably discriminated from that of other mineral deposit types (e.g., porphyry/epithermal, skarn, orogenic), but no criteria successfully discriminate yet between IOA and IOCG deposits.

Missouri↗
USGS2019

Oxygen isotopic investigation of silicic magmatism in the Stillwater caldera complex, Nevada: Generation of large-volume, low-δ18O rhyolitic tuffs and assessment of their regional context in the Great Basin of the western United States

Successive caldera-forming eruptions from ca. 30 to 25 Ma generated a large nested caldera complex in western Nevada that was subsequently dissected by Basin and Range extension, providing extraordinary cross-sectional views through diverse volcanic and plutonic rocks. A high-resolution oxygen isotopic study was conducted on units that represent all major parts of the Job Canyon, Louderback Mountains, Poco Canyon, and Elevenmile Canyon caldera cycles (29.2−25.1 Ma), and several Cretaceous plutons that flank the Stillwater caldera complex. We provide new oxygen and strontium isotope data for 12 additional caldera centers in the Great Basin, which are synthesized with >150 published oxygen and strontium isotope analyses for regional Mesozoic basement rocks. Stillwater zircons span a large isotopic range (δ 18 O zircon of 3.6‰−8.2‰), and all caldera cycles possess low-δ 18 O zircons. In some cases, they are a small proportion of the total populations, and in others, they dominate, such as in the low-δ 18 O rhyolitic tuffs of Job Canyon and Poco Canyon (δ 18 O zircon = 4.0‰−4.3‰; δ 18 O magma = 5.5‰−6‰). These are the first low-δ 18 O rhyolites documented in middle Cenozoic calderas of the Great Basin, adding to the global occurrence of these important magma types that fingerprint recycling of shallow crust altered by low-δ 18 O meteoric waters. The appearance of low-δ 18 O rhyolites in the Stillwater caldera complex is overprinted on a Great Basin−wide trend of miogeoclinal sediment contribution to silicic magmas that elevates δ 18 O compositions, making identification of 18 O depletions difficult. Though not a nominally low-δ 18 O rhyolite, the tuff of Elevenmile Canyon possesses both low-δ 18 O and high-δ 18 O zircon cores that are overgrown by homogenized zircon rims that approximate the bulk zircon average, pointing to batch assembly of isotopically diverse upper crustal melts to generate one of the most voluminous (2500−5000 km 3 ) tuff eruptions in the Great Basin. Despite overlapping in space and time, each caldera-forming cycle of the Stillwater complex has a unique oxygen isotope record as retained in single zircons. Most plutons that were spatially and temporally coincident with calderas have isotopic compositions that diverge from the caldera-forming tuffs and cannot be their cogenetic remnants.

Nevada↗
USGS2018

Insights into the emplacement of upper-crustal plutons and their relationship to large silicic calderas, from field relationships, geochronology, and zircon trace element geochemistry in the Stillwater – Clan Alpine caldera complex, western Nevada, USA

Geologic mapping, new U-Pb zircon ages, and new and published 40 Ar/ 39 Ar sanidine ages document the timing and extent of Oligocene magmatism in the southern Stillwater Range and Clan Alpine Mountains of western Nevada, where Miocene extension has exposed at least six nested silicic calderas and underlying granitic plutons to crustal depths locally ≥ 9 km. Both caldera-forming rhyolitic tuffs and underlying plutons were emplaced in two episodes, one from about 30.4–28.2 Ma that included the Deep Canyon, Job Canyon, and Campbell Creek calderas and underlying plutons, and one from about 25.3–24.8 Ma that included the Louderback Mountains, Poco Canyon, and Elevenmile Canyon calderas and underlying plutons. In these two 1–2 m.y. periods, almost the entire Mesozoic upper crust was replaced by Oligocene intrusive and extrusive rocks to depths ≥ 9 km over an estimated total area of ~ 1500 km 2 (pre-extension). Zircon trace element geochemistry indicates that some plutonic rock can be solidified residual magma from the tuff eruptions. Most plutons are not solidified residual magma, although they directly underlie calderas and were emplaced along the same structures shortly after to as much as one million years after caldera formation. Magma chambers and plutons grew by floor subsidence accommodated by downward transfer of country rocks. If other Great Basin calderas are similar, the dense concentration of shallowly exposed calderas in central Nevada is underlain by a complexly zoned mid-Cenozoic batholith assembled in discrete pulses that coincided with formation of large silicic calderas up to 2500–5000 km 3 .

Nevada↗