USING HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING TO MEASURE RARE EARTH ELEMENTS AT DIFFERENT SCALES

Critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements (REEs), are crucial components for a wide range of high-tech applications, including magnets, batteries, catalysts, and phosphors. These applications are essential for the Net-Zero energy transition. Many researchers are exploring innovative ways to map REEs, and one promising approach involves imaging spectroscopy, which has made significant advances in recent years. This research focuses on utilizing this technique to map REEs in the Sulfide Queen mine, located in Mountain Pass, California. This mine has the highest concentrations of REEs within a carbonatite deposit in the United States. Three spectral indices, referred to as Bastnäsite Indices (BI), based on reflectance measurements from laboratory-based hyperspectral data collected under visible illumination are proposed for the purpose of mapping the relative REE abundance.

Hyperspectral data was gathered using tripod-mounted and drone-mounted cameras at the Sulfide Quine Mine. The Bastnäsite Indices were applied to analyze the data from different sensors including eight different airborne and spaceborne imaging spectrometers. This method has successfully identified rare earth elements in data collected from all these different sensors. Therefore, it is a valuable tool for mineral exploration. This method can assist in mineral exploration for remote evaluations of ore deposits.