Homa. Economic importance Carbonatites may contain economic or anomalous concentrations of rare-earth elements, phosphorus, niobium–tantalum, uranium, thorium, copper, iron, titanium, vanadium, barium, fluorine, zirconium, and other rare or incompatible elements. Apatite, barite and vermiculite are among the industrially important minerals associated with some carbonatites. Trace elements are extremely enriched in carbonatites, and they have the highest concentration of lanthanides of any known rock type. The largest REE-carbonatite deposits are Bayan Obo, Mountain Pass, Maoniuping, and Mount Weld. Vein deposits of thorium, fluorite, or rare-earth elements may be associated with carbonatites and may be hosted internal to or within the metasomatized aureole of a carbonatite. As an example, the Palabora complex of South Africa has produced significant copper (as chalcopyrite, bornite and chalcocite), apatite, vermiculate along with lesser magnetite, linnaeite (cobalt), baddeleyite (zirconium–hafnium), and by-product gold, silver, nickel and platinum. References Sources Duncan R. K., Willett G. C. (1990) – Mount Weld Carbonatite: in Hughes F. E. (Ed.), 1990 Geology of the Mineral Deposits of Australia & Papua New Guinea The AusIMM, Melbourne Mono 14, v. 1 pp. 591–597. Bolivian carbonatite occurrences. External links Photos of natrocarbonatite lava Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania Ol Doinyo Lengai - The Mountain of God List of alkaline rock occurrences in the Americas Phosphate deposits of Australia, Mount Weld Carbonatite Description of the Mount Weld Carbonatite Blue River Carbonatites, British Columbia, Canada Video of molten carbonatite lava flow eruptions at Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano Igneous rocks