Mineralogical and geochemical study of apatite and dolomite from the Bayan Obo giant Fe-REE-Nb deposit in Inner Mongolia: New evidences for genesis

The Bayan Obo Fe-REE-Nb deposit is the world’s largest resource of REE and its origin still remains controversial. To decipher the genesis of this unique deposit, we conducted a detailed mineralogical observations using scanning electron microscope (SEM), cathodoluminescence (CL) and in-situ micro-analyses on chemical compositions of the dolomite and apatite by EPMA and LA-ICPMS techniques. A wide range in SrO contents in dolomite mineral grains...