<< Carbonatites and related ore deposits, results on Lueshe
 
1. Applied Geochemistry of Lueshe Ores
The Department of Geochemistry has been engaged, in 1991-1993, in an extensive study of Niobium ores of the Lueshe Mine in the framework of the EC-Funded BRITE-EURAM project MA2M - CT90-0038 (Applied mineralogy of pyrochlore and related minerals in the weathering zones of the niobium deposits of the Lueshe and Bingo carbonatites, Zaire). 

The objective of the project, under the guidance of the industrial partner Gesellschaft für Elektrometallurgie (Nuernberg, Germany) has been the precise characterization of the ores, as a prerequisite for the optimisation of the beneficiation processes.
The structure of the group:

GfE (Geselschaft Fuer Elecktrometallurgie) coordinated the project and the three other participants, British Museum (National History), University of Louvain and Ecole de Mines, Saint-Etienne, were linked as contractors.

  • GfE carried out drill sampling, sizing, magnetic and heavy media separation and analyses by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and was responsible for the data processing, geostatistics and assistance with the field work at Bingo.
  • The British Museum (NH) team focused on the mineral chemistry of the ore using electron microprobe techniques and was responsible for mapping the Bingo occurrence.
  • The University of Louvain team led the research on qualitative and quantitative mineralogical analyses on magnetically separated size fractions.
  • Our team at Saint-Etienne focused on the geochemistry of the ores and their mineralogical components using techniques including ICP-AES, XRF and INAA and in petrological work and determination of the ore-forming processes.
A summary of the results of the cooperative work can be found in
Albers K.H., Bilal E., Garcia D., Gruffat J.J., Guy B., Meixner K., Moutte J., Nasraoui M., Philippo S., Schürmann B., Sonnet P., Verkaeren J., Wall F., Williams T., Woolley A. (1993). "Applied mineralogy pyrochlore and related minerals in the weathering zones of the niobium deposits of the Lueshe and Bingo carbonatites, Zaïre". Final Report, CCE Contract MA2M-CT90-0038
2. Geochemistry / Petrology :
This project has given the opportunity for studies more geologically oriented, which are (will be) fully accessible on the present site:
  • on the geochemistry of laterites: eug1999/index.html Application of whole rock geochemical methods to the analysis of supergene processes: laterites developed on carbonatites at Lueshe (Kivu, Congo)