A UNIFIED CORE CHARACTERIZATION METHODOLOGY FOR CHARACTERIZATION AND ASSESSMENT OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS AND CRITICAL MINERAL BEARING UNCONVENTIONAL CARBON ORES AND SEDIMENTARY STRATA

A significant gap exists in understanding and ability to predict the spatial occurrence and extent of rare earth elements (REE) and certain critical minerals (CM) in sedimentary strata. The gap is due to a lack of adequate and well-distributed representation for U.S. sedimentary basins. In addition, the type of sampling and characterization performed to date has generally lacked the resolution and approach required to constrain geologic and geographic heterogeneities typical of subsurface, mineral resources. This presentation will describe a robust and systematic method for collecting core scale characterization data that can be applied to studies on the contextual and spatial attributes, the geologic history, and lithostratigraphy of sedimentary basins. The methods were developed using drilled cores from coal bearing sedimentary strata in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming (PRB). The goal of this effort is to create a unified core characterization methodology to collect key data to achieve a foundation of spatially and geologically constrained REE and CM measurements and to provide sufficient data for ore body scale analysis of REE and CM from a variety of basins and areas. The methods herein establish a framework to harmonize geological, geochemical, and geospatial datasets that are crucial to assess and validate if REE occur in adequate concentrations and volumes to support commercial extraction in priority U.S. basins.