Geoscientists Jasper Berndt (left) and Stephan Klemme present a volcanic rock from Laacher See. This rock from the Eifel region of Germany contains the mineral hauyne (approx. 0.5 mm), inside of which the researchers found the microscopically small carbonatite melt inclusions (small picture, bottom left). In the background is the ’JEOL electron microprobe’ with which the measurements were carried out.
Carbonatite rocks are economically important. The many hundreds of known carbonatite deposits on all continents are important repositories of rare-earth metals such as lanthanum, cerium and neodymium. These are used in many key technologies, including smartphones, plasma and LCD screens, as well as in radiology for medical diagnoses, in generators in wind turbines, and in electric motors. However, although carbonatites are economically important, their origins remain enigmatic. Scientists at the University of Münster have now, for the first time, demonstrated that these rocks formed by immiscible segregation from silicate magmas. The study has been published in the journal "Nature Communications".
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