A Study on the Identification and Application of Bastnäsite in
Carbonatite-Related REE Deposits Based on Hyperspectral
(VNIR-SWIR-TIR)
GUO Dong-xu1, 2, 3, SHI Wei-xin2, 3*, GUO Rui4, GAO Qing-nan2, 3, REN Xiao-sa2, 3, LIU Jun-yuan2, 3, GUO Xue2, 3, MEI Xiao-min2, 3
1. MNR Key Laboratory of Metallogeny and Mineral Assessment, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037, China
2. Cores and Samples Center of Natural Resources, Sanhe 065201, China
3. Technology Innovation Center of Drill-Core Digitalization, China Geological Survey, Sanhe 065201, China
4. Exploration Surveying Institute of Baogang Group, Baotou 014017, China
Abstract：Bastnäsite is one of the most economically important rare-earth element (REE)- bearing minerals in carbonatite-related REE deposits. It contains extremely important geological information regarding the processes of diagenesis, alteration, and mineralization. It is one of the focuses that receives wide attention to accurately identify the concentrations of this rare earth mineral for geologists. Visible, near-infrared, short-wave infrared, and Thermal infrared spectroscopy (VNIR-SWIR-TIR) is characterized by an environmentally friendly, rapid, and non-destructive determination of material composition, through laboratory, field, drill core, airborne spectrometers, as well as spaceborne instruments. The qualitative identification of REE and their compounds, as well as rare earth minerals, along with the quantitative analysis of REE, has been systematically studied using this technology. However, the quantitative inversion study of rare earth minerals using infrared spectroscopy is relatively limited, and further work is needed. In this paper, typical bastnäsite-bearing ore samples collected from the Maoniuping, Dalucao, and Bayan Obo deposits were measured using a HyLogger instrument, supplemented by XRD and EMPA, to investigate the identification and application of bastnäsite by infrared spectroscopy (VNIR-SWIR-TIR) in carbonatite-related REE deposits. The conclusions can be obtained as follows. There are similar characteristics among ore mineral assemblages, including the major compositions of calcite and bastnäsite, between the Dalucao and Maoniuping deposits. Ore minerals are mainly -composed of bastnäsite, while gangue minerals primarily contain calcite, fluorite, celestite, barite, quartz, mica, aegirine-augite, and arfvedsonite in both deposits. The major components of calcite are CaO, along with minor concentrations of FeO, MnO, and MgO, while the bastnäsite is composed of higher contents of La2O3, Ce2O3, Pr2O3, Nd2O3, and F in these two deposits. A systematic summary of the spectral parameters, including relative absorption depths (or relative reflection heights), absorption areas, and full width at half maximum (FWHM), is established in this study. The positions of strong absorption (511, 522, 580, 677, 742, 865, 890, 1 094, and 1 255 nm) for bastnäsite in the wavebands of 400~1 300 nm remain unchanged with changes in bastnäsite concentration (≥10%). Furthermore, the relative absorption depths and absorption areas for these wavebands of bastnäsite exhibit strong correlations with its concentration, which has been used to establish various categories of quantitative inversion models for bastnäsite concentrates. Models of quadratic regression with one variable through characteristic absorption depths (and/or absorption areas) yield the best predictions of bastnäsite, along with high accuracy, as indicated by R2 values ranging from 0.988 5 to 0.997 6. According to the comparison of bastnäsite and REO concentrations, predicted from established inversion models, as well as the chemically analyzed contents of REO within the drill core ZK3303 from the Dalucao carbonatite-related REE deposits, there is a high consistency in the trend with depth for the three variations as a whole. This study indicates that infrared spectroscopy (VNIR-SWIR-TIR) technology, with its relative advantages of accurate identification and content detection for bastnäsite, has broad applications in mineral and regional exploration, as well as mineral resource forecasting in the deep and marginal areas within carbonatite-related REE deposits.
Key words：Hyperspectral; Bastnäsite; Carbonatite-related; REE deposit; Mineral exploration
郭东旭，史维鑫，郭 锐，高卿楠，任潇洒，刘军媛，郭 雪，梅晓敏. 高光谱（VNIR-SWIR-TIR）技术对碳酸岩型稀土矿床中氟碳铈矿的识别与应用[J]. 光谱学与光谱分析, 2025, 45(06): 1700-1711.
GUO Dong-xu, SHI Wei-xin, GUO Rui, GAO Qing-nan, REN Xiao-sa, LIU Jun-yuan, GUO Xue, MEI Xiao-min. A Study on the Identification and Application of Bastnäsite in
Carbonatite-Related REE Deposits Based on Hyperspectral
(VNIR-SWIR-TIR). SPECTROSCOPY AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, 2025, 45(06): 1700-1711.
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