Australia’s Niobium Future Boosted by Curtin University Study into Ancient Rocks

A Curtin University-led study has identified significant new potential to boost Australia’s niobium stocks.

According to Geoscience Australia, the nation’s niobium resource is currently confined to a small number of deposits, largely as a by-product or co-product of rare earth element or rare earth element (REE)-zirconium mineralisation.

Rated as a critical mineral by a number of countries including Australia, niobium is attracting increasing demand for its primary use as an alloying element to strengthen steel, improving fuel efficiency in vehicles and infrastructure.

Niobium also forms superalloys for high-performance jet engines and gas turbines, as well as superconductors for medical imaging (MRI) and maglev trains.

Niobium Origin Identified

Now, the new study of rare rocks buried deep beneath central Australia have revealed the origins of one of what is being described as one of the world’s most promising new deposits of niobium.

The study has found that niobium-rich carbonatites were injected more than 800 million years ago after melted material travelled towards the surface through pre-existing fault zones during a tectonic rifting event.

Author of the study, Dr Maximilian Dröllner from Curtin’s Frontier Institute for Geoscience Solutions and the University of Göttingen in Germany said the findings have identified how rare, metal-rich magmas reach the surface – and why the Australian deposit is so interesting.

“These carbonatites are unlike anything previously known in the region and contain important concentrations of niobium,” Dr Dröllner said.

Unravelling Complex Histories

The study’s co-author, Curtin professor Chris Kirkland, said the use of advanced geochronology and isotope techniques is proving important in unravelling complex geological histories.

“Carbonatites are rare igneous rocks known to host major global deposits of critical metals such as niobium and rare earth elements. But determining when and how they formed has historically been difficult due to their complex geological histories,” Professor Kirkland said.

“By analysing isotopes and using high-resolution imaging, we were able to reconstruct more than 500 million years of geological events that these rocks experienced.

“This approach allowed us to pinpoint when the carbonatites formed and separate those original magmatic events from changes that happened later in the rocks.”