New occurrence of Ba-REE fluorcarbonate minerals at Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia, North China, and their mineralogical features

Abstract

Ba-REE fluorcarbonate minerals from a carbonatite dyke at Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia, North China, are first reported in this contribution, in which chemical composition, rare earth element (REE) patterns, and intergrowth relationships for these minerals have been investigated. Syntactic intergrowth or syntaxy between cebaite and cordylite, as well as cordylite and huanghoite were observed. This syntactic texture resulted from the variation of chemical composition of crystallizing agents for those minerals that crystallized directly from carbonatite magmas. It is worth noting that REE patterns of the Ba-REE fluorcarbonate minerals in the dyke are similar to those of the corresponding minerals from the ore hosted dolomite marble of the Bayan Obo giant REE-Nb-Fe mineral deposit, which implies their relation in origin.