Rare Earth Elements

Monazite is a rare phosphate mineral with a chemical composition of (Ce,La,Nd,Th)(PO4,SiO4). It usually occurs in small isolated grains, as an accessory mineral in igneous and metamorphic rocks such as granite, pegmatite, schist, and gneiss. These grains are resistant to weathering and become concentrated in soils and sediments downslope from the host rock. When in high enough concentrations, they are mined for their rare earth and thorium content.

Monazite Mineral Group
Mineral	Chemical Composition
Brabantite	CaTh(PO4)2
Cheralite	(Ca,Ce,Th)(P,Si)O4
Gasparite-(Ce)	(Ce,La,Nd)AsO4
Monazite-(Ce)	CePO4
Monazite-(La)	LaPO4
Monazite-(Nd)	NdPO4
Monazite-(Sm)	SmPO4
Rooseveltite	BiAsO4

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Monazite is a yellowish brown to reddish brown or greenish brown mineral with a resinous to vitreous luster

Monazite is known more for where it accumulates instead of where it forms. It forms during the crystallization of igneous rocks and during the metamorphism of clastic sedimentary rocks. When these rocks weather, monazite is one of the more resistant minerals and becomes concentrated in the weathering debris. The soils and sediments found near a weathering outcrop can have a higher concentration of monazite than the source rock.
The liberated grains of monazite then begin a journey downslope. Eventually they are brought to a stream or a dry wash. There, the actions of gravity and running water help the heavy grains of monazite and other heavy minerals segregate from lighter minerals. They accumulate behind boulders, on the inside bends of stream channels and work their way down into the lower portions of the sediment deposit. Some are washed to the sea where they accumulate in deltaic, beach, or shallow water sediments.

Today, most of the world's monazite is produced in the offshore waters of India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brazil. Southern India and Sri Lanka have the most extensive offshore monazite resources known. Australia was once the world's largest producer of monazite and is thought to have the world's largest monazite resource. It has not been a significant producer since the 1990s, after public objection shut down mining on Frasier IslandRare earth elements play an essential role in our national defense. The military uses night-vision goggles, precision-guided weapons, communications equipment, GPS equipment, batteries, and other defense electronics. These give the United States military an enormous advantage. Rare earth metals are key ingredients for making the very hard alloys used in armored vehicles and projectiles that shatter upon impact.

Before 1965 there was relatively little demand for rare earth elements. At that time, most of the world's supply was being produced from placer deposits in India and Brazil. In the 1950s, South Africa became the leading producer from rare earth bearing monazite deposits. At that time, the Mountain Pass Mine in California was producing minor amounts of rare earth oxides from a Precambrian carbonatite.

The demand for rare earth elements saw its first explosion in the mid-1960s, as the first color television sets were entering the market. Europium was the essential material for producing the color images. The Mountain Pass Mine began producing europium from bastnasite, which contained about 0.1% europium. This effort made the Mountain Pass Mine the largest rare earth producer in the world and placed the United States as the leading producer.

"Rare earths are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust, but discovered minable concentrations are less common than for most other ores. U.S. and world resources are contained primarily in bastnäsite and monazite. Bastnäsite deposits in China and the United States constitute the largest percentage of the world's rare-earth economic resources, while monazite deposits in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United States constitute the second largest segment.