Dr. Anenburg, of ANU, said: “We have never seen an iron-rich magma erupt from an active volcano, but we know some extinct volcanoes, which are millions of years old, had this enigmatic type of eruption.
“Our findings suggest that these iron-rich extinct volcanoes across the globe, such as El Laco in Chile, could be studied for the presence of rare earth elements.”
The research team simulated volcanic eruptions in the lab by sourcing rocks similar to those from iron-rich extinct volcanoes.
They put the rocks into a pressurized furnace and heated them to “extremely high” temperatures to melt them and learn more about the minerals inside the rocks.
That is how they discovered the “abundance” of rare earth elements contained in iron-rich volcanic rocks.

With more countries investing heavily in renewable energy technologies, the demand for rare earth elements continues to soar—and is expected to increase fivefold by 2030.
Dr. Anenburg said: “Rare earth elements aren’t that rare: they are similar in abundance to lead and copper.
“But breaking down and extracting these metals from the minerals they reside in is challenging and expensive,”
China has the planet’s largest deposit of rare earth elements, while Europe’s largest deposit of rare earths is in Sweden.
Dr. Anenburg said Australia has a “world-class” deposit at Mount Weld in Western Australia and others near Dubbo, New South Wales, and Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
He added: “Australia has an opportunity to become a major player in the clean energy space by capitalizing on its abundance of rare earth resources.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker