Geological mapping of the rare earth elementenriched graf phosphorite (upperordovician) in northwestern illinoisproject period: july 1, 2024 to june 30, 2027THE purpose of this award is to enable…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (CFDA 15.073) will enable detailed documentation of rare earth element (REE) enrichment in phosphate-rich sedimentary rocks in northwestern Illinois. The $330,000 award to the University of Illinois will fund a 3-year project to conduct geological mapping, geochemical sampling, and shallow drilling to characterize the REE-enriched phosphate rock interval in the region. The project will create maps of REE concentration, thickness of the enriched interval, and sedimentary overburden, providing foundational knowledge to support further academic and industry activities focused on the recovery and processing of domestic REE resources. This work builds on prior regional geochemical reconnaissance by state geological surveys and the USGS related to REE-enrichment in phosphate rocks across the central U.S.

Geological mapping of the rare earth elementenriched graf phosphorite (upperordovician) in northwestern illinoisproject period: july 1, 2024 to june 30, 2027THE purpose of this award is to enable detailed documentation of rare earth element (REE) enrichmentin phosphaterich sedimentary rocks in northwestern illinois. The fourteen rees are some of the mosthighly prized critical minerals, essential to the manufacture of a range of green and defensetechnologies. China holds a near monopoly on the production and export of this commodity and theawarded project will advance knowledge of a rock succession in the central U.S. That has the potential tobe developed as a domestic REE resource. This project builds on a recent earth mapping resourcesinitiative regional geochemical reconnaissance of reeenrichment in phosphate rocks involvinggeologists from several state geological surveys and the U.S. Geological survey.sampling and geochemical analysis targeting the reeenriched phosphate rock across the westernportion of JO davies county in northwestern illinois will result in creation of maps and a brief report.preliminary data suggest that the reeenriched phosphate rock in this area is concentrated at shallowdepth beneath a cover of unconsolidated sediments with an average thickness of 10FT. A combination ofshallow drilling techniques will be utilized to confirm the presence of the reeenriched interval and torecover samples for geochemical analysis.hundreds of new geochemical results will allow creation of maps of REE concentration, thickness of theenriched interval, and thickness and character of sedimentary overburden. Preliminary data suggest thatree concentration within the target interval are up to an order of magnitude more enriched that somemined deposits in china. Regional characterization suggests that the thickness of the enriched interval ishighly variable and the recipient anticipates documenting rapid thickening from a feather edge to thicknesses of 10TO 20 FT. Shallow burial and weathering may have enhanced the recoverability of rees in the study area. The resulting maps and database will provide a foundational knowledge for additional academic andindustry activities focused on the recovery and processing of domestic REE resources.