Mineral potential re-evaluation of the Seis Lagos Carbonatite Complex, Amazon, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Bento,João Pedro Proença
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Porto,Claudio Gerheim, Takehara,Lucy, Silva,Francisco José da, Bastos Neto,Artur Cezar, Machado,Matheus Lamas, Duarte,Ana Carolina
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Geology
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2317-48892022000100303
• topic: laterite; carbonatite; niobium; rare earth elements; Amazon; Brazil

Abstract The Seis Lagos Carbonatite Complex hosts a lateritic deposit developed over a siderite carbonatite. In the 1980’s, it was estimated to contain 2.89 Bt @ 2.81 wt% Nb2O5. Recent studies have produced new data allowing re-evaluation of the area’s mineral potential. In this work, a geological model has been constructed and new estimates of grades and tonnages are presented. The volume of cavities that occur in the lateritic crust is still unknown, and it was then segmented in possible scenarios ranging from 0 to 63%, impacting estimates of tonnage. The estimations were divided into two domains that vary according to the available data. In Domain 1, it has been estimated between 10.5-28.3 Mt @ 2.97 wt% Nb2O5 and 0.71 wt% REE2O3, and in Domain 2, between 1.40-3.78 Bt @ 1.17 wt% Nb2O5 and 0.46 wt% REE2O3. High grades of Ti, Sn and W were also detected for the lateritic crust. It is estimated that sediments in the Esperança Basin contain 11.8 Mt @ 1.76 wt% REE2O3 and 2.36 wt% P2O5, whereas the siderite carbonatite shows high grades of Nb, REE, Sc and Zn, further increasing the area’s mineral potential. Soil grids on neighboring hills do not show similarly high Nb grades, but do present high grades of REE and P.