The rare earth elements (REEs) are considered critical raw materials. Ole will study the behavior of REEs in the mineral rinkite. The study has implications for REE ore deposit formation and mineralogy.
The rare earth elements (REE; atomic numbers 57 to 71, and 39Y) are critical raw materials with several technological applications, including in the production of permanent magnets, as catalysts, and in batteries.
Due to their consistent valency of +3 (with Eu2+ being an exception) and systematically varying ionic radii, they tend to vary systematically in geochemical systems.
During his post doc, Ole will work on the REE-rich mineral rinkite in peralkaline rocks from Greenland (Ilímaussaq Complex). Ole will utilize electron microprobe analyses on minerals and alteration phases and perform geochemical modelling to understand how the REEs behave during the formation of REE-enriched minerals, and during the breakdown of these minerals under weathering.
The work has implications for the understanding of magmatic and potentially also sedimentary REE ore formation, and for the understanding of the mineralogy of the Ilímaussaq Complex.
Main supervisor:
Ida Lykke Fabricius