I recently attended a meeting of the Denver Mining Club (http://www.denverminingclub.com) which featured a talk about rare earth elements. This talk by club member Larry James, (James GeoAssociates, P.C.) was entitled “The Bayan Obo Rare Earth Deposit and Associated Iron Mining (1993): A Geological Snapshot of Autonomous Inner Mongolia (China).” y
This area of Inner Mongolia, originally developed and mined by Mongolians, is now being mined by Chinese. Mr. James visited the area between 1990 and 1995. While he noted that the mining and geologic information may be dated (as were the photos), his numerous photos, and ongoing discussion of the geology, mining and culture was fascinating.
Area Background – Geology and Mining
Larry noted that in the 1990s, this area was mined for its iron ore which was being used to produce steel. These Proterozoic deposits were limestone, altered to iron rich dolomite. The magnetite ore contains concentrations of apatite, fluorite and pyrite. Included in this mineralized zone are concentrations of rare earths such as niobium.
Larry noted that when he visited the area, rare earths did not have the significance they have today. In fact, most of their uses had not been discovered, let alone technically perfected.
The ore from this area was being mixed 2 to 1 with high grade iron ores from Australia. Iron ores high in fluorine are very corrosive in the manufacture of steel. It had to be mixed to reduce the corrosive properties. In fact, only about 66% of the mine’s capacity was being used because of this blending.
Today, the Chinese government is not letting people visit the mine or sharing the production numbers according to Larry. Apparently the rare earth production and concentration from this area is now a “state secret”.
Reflections on a Culture
As a geologist, I found that this presentation was extremely interesting. The mining, geology and technical discussion was excellent. However, upon reflection, in my opinion, there is something much more important in talks like this.
Larry presented photographs of, and talked about the local Mongolian culture. This was every bit as interesting as the mining and geological aspect of the presentation. His stories gave the audience a sense of what it was like to visit a region that might currently have global significance because of its resources.
The people who started mining in this region and who were employed by the mine in the 1990’s were descendants of Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire, founded in 1206. They apparently were not pleased with the Chinese mining and taking their resources. These Mongols conquered much of the known world at the peak of their empire.
Relevance to the Future
As I reflect on this talk and the stimulation which I received from it, one aspect saddens me. I estimate the average age of the group attending this presentation at about 55-60. While I am sure that most of the attendees enjoyed the information as much as I, the lack of people under the age 50 is of concern for more than just the obvious technical reasons (i.e lack of technical expertise).
As an options trader, I am very sympathetic to the financial and lack of opportunity concerns of the “occupy” movement (OWS) being presented by a generation which is on the rise. In this era of political sound bites, and concentrated information, the global experiences of Larry and others in the Denver Mining Club could and probably would be eye opening for a generation that has not, by in large, traveled and experienced other cultures in their native setting.
Young people in the OWS movement could benefit greatly from talking and listening to people like Larry. The young would gain a real sense of the world and its people, as well as a historical perspective not presented in school or by the main stream media, which seemingly is only interested in selling the next greatest “technological thing.” Seniors would begin to understand the perspective of many of the young which seems to be frustration and loss of hope for many reasons, including lack of leadership, jobs and opportunities.
The interface between these two groups would be very beneficial to our society. These two groups, working together could make significant progress in making the political and economic changes necessary to change the direction both of our society and its leadership.
H. Court Young
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