Neodymium-Rich Monazite of the Lemhi Pass District, Idaho and Montana: Chemistry and Geochronology

Thorium-rare earth-iron oxide deposits of the Lemhi Pass district, Idaho and Montana, are enriched in the middle rare earth elements (REE), and particularly neodymium (Nd). Overall, thorium (Th) and total rare earth oxide (TREO) grades of the deposits are sub equal at 0.4 wt. % but locally exceed 1 wt. % TREO. Nd-monazite, the major REE phase (35 wt. % Nd2O3) occurs in hydrothermal Th-REE mineralized quartz veins and biotite-rich shear zones of enigmatic origin. Hosted in Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks, the deposits are modest in size but present over a large area with no obvious source pluton exposed. This paper documents the geochemistry of the monazite and provides the first geochronological data to constrain its origin. Elemental mapping and U-Th-total Pb EPMA dating of the monazite and thorite document a Paleozoic age for mineralization centered in the Late Devonian at approximately 355 Ma ± 20 Ma. A second period of volumetrically minor Th and REE remobilization is dated as Mesozoic (ca. 100 Ma). For context, a reactivated passive continental margin was present during the Devonian in eastern Idaho, while the Mesozoic was a time of major accretionary tectonics and arc magmatism further west. Nd and Pb isotopic data require a significant interaction of the fluids with an ancient crustal component represented by regional Mesoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks and granitoids. A source–transport–deposition model is hypothesized with metasomatic fractionation and enrichment of Nd during regional hydrothermal circulation. The aqueous fluids were hot, oxidizing, and likely saline, but the exact source of the Th and REEs and the mechanism of enrichment remains problematic. Additional analytical work and increased knowledge of the regional and district geology will improve this unconventional hypothesis for formation of Lemhi Pass’ unusual Nd-rich Th-REE-Fe mineralization.