United States – Rare earths exploration company US Rare Earths Inc (USRE) has announced that it is to focus its efforts on developing a europium-rich deposit.
The Texas company has already received a permit to reopen historic tunnels and start mining rare earths at its ′Last Chance Vein′ project in the Lemhi Pass region of Idaho and Montana. Production is scheduled to start by late 2017. USRE commissioned Hazen Research to sample two short tons of material from the stockpile at Last Chance.
Findings suggest that the main high-value rare earth minerals are dark monazite and xenotime, enriched in europium while also featuring aluminium, iron, titanium, calcium and magnesium. The analysis points to a ′remarkable′ europium content. Europium is one of the most reactive rare earths, spontaneously exploding in air at temperatures between 150 and 180 degC.
Its uses include sophisticated industrial applications owing to its fluorescent characteristics, such as creating the watermark on Euro banknotes.
Source: Investor Intel
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