Department of Natural Resources and Mines
Geological Survey of Queensland
Rhenium opportunities in Queensland
What is rhenium?
Rhenium (Re) is one of several strategic elements that have
not been exploited in significant quantities, but which are now
attracting interest because of likely new sources and their
potential use in new technologies.
• Rhenium is a silver-white very dense metal with the atomic
number of 75.
• Rhenium was the last stable element in nature to be
discovered; it was found in 1925 by a team of German
scientists.
• With an estimated average crustal concentration of 1 part per
billion (1ppb), rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the
earth’s crust.
• Rhenium has a melting point of 3186°C, the third highest
melting point of all elements apart from carbon and tungsten. It
has the highest boiling point of any element at 5596°C.
• At 21.0 g/cm3, rhenium is one of the densest of all elements—a
1 m3 block weighs 21 tonnes).
• Rhenium is rigid under stress and remains ductile from
0° Kelvin to its melting point without fracturing, making for easy
machining.
• Rhenium is one of a group of refractory metals, including
niobium, molybdenum, tantalum and wolfram that have very
high resistance to heat and wear.
• Rhenium is probably not found free in nature, but only in the
mineral molybdenite which is the major commercial ore.
How do we use rhenium?
Rhenium’s low production levels have restricted its usefulness,
but possible future increased production will lead to more
research and wider use.
Regular supply, such as that predicted to come from Queensland
(see ‘Where is rhenium found in Queensland?’), will see rhenium
use increase and become more common.
Currently, rhenium is used in:
• Jet engines. Super alloys of rhenium and nickel are used in
high temperature turbine engine components by jet engine
manufacturers such as General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Pratt
& Whitney. Compared to standard engines, rhenium turbines
operate at much higher temperatures, produce more power and
thrust, are more fuel efficient and have lower emissions. The
use of rhenium alloys in all new turbines will raise the strategic
importance of the metal.
• Catalysts in fuels. Platinum–rhenium catalysts are used in
making lead-free high octane petrol.
Great state. Great opportunity.
September 2014
• Thermometers. Tungsten–rhenium alloys, which are ductile
and easier to machine are used as thermocouples to measure
temperatures up to 2200°C.
• X-ray sources. Tungsten–rhenium alloys are also used as X-ray
sources. The high melting points of both compounds, and
high atomic mass, make them stable under prolonged electron
impact.
• Lighting. Rhenium is widely used in filaments in mass
spectrographs and also as an electrical contact material.
Where is rhenium found in Queensland?
Chile has the world’s largest rhenium reserves in molybdenite as
a minor constituent of its porphyry copper deposits, and was the
leading global producer in 2005.
However, the Merlin deposit is the world’s highest grade
molybdenum and rhenium deposit and is hosted by the
metasedimentary rocks of the Kuridala Group in the Mount Isa
Eastern Succession. Very high-grade molybdenum mineralisation
close to the surface also occurs at its southern end in the
subsidiary Little Wizard deposit. The origin of the mineralisation
is unclear, but there are closely related copper–gold deposits
in the region, which are classified as iron-oxide–copper–gold
(IOCG) and are probably related to Proterozoic granitoids. The
molybdenum–rhenium mineralisation is overlain by discrete
copper and zinc-rich polymetallic sulphide zones of the Mount
Dore ore body (Australian Mines Atlas, 2014). Published
Probable Reserves at Merlin are 7.1 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.1%
molybdenum and 18.1 grams per tonne (g/t) rhenium for a
contained 78 thousand tonnes (kt) molybdenum and 129 tonnes
rhenium.
Inova (formerly Ivanhoe Australia and now Chinova Resources
following a takeover by Shanxi Doughui Coal Coking& Chemicals
Group Co. Limited) commenced construction of a decline at
Merlin in late 2010 and reported that phase 1 was completed
in early 2012. Phase 2 of the decline development is awaiting
project approval (Australian Mines Atlas, 2014).
Rhenium is also present at the Kalman copper–gold–
molybdenum deposit 62 km southeast of Mount Isa. This
molybdenum also contains high concentrations of rhenium.
The deposit is still being explored. The deposit has Inferred
Resources of 60.8 Mt at 0.05% molybdenum, 1.19 g/t rhenium,
0.32% copper and 0.15g/t gold, with a contained 30.4 kt of
molybdenum (Australian Mines Atlas, 2014).
The distribution of rhenium in Queensland was tested during
a recent regional national geochemical survey. The survey
showed several drainage systems in Queensland with anomalous
rhenium concentrations in the sediments. Currently there has
been no testing to determine their source.
Further reading
Further information
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/rhenium/
index.html#mcs
GSQ hotline
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +61 7 3006 4666
Geological Survey of Queensland
Level 12, 61 Mary St Brisbane Qld 4000
www.dnrm.qld.gov.au
140°
145°
150°
Queensland Molybdenum
and Rhenium
10°
Molybdenum & Rhenium occurrence
Very Small
Small
"
Medium
Weipa
Large
Giant
"
Town
Railway
Road
Permian-Triassic Granitoids
"
15°
Kennedy Igneous Association
Cooktown
Mesozoic basins
Permian Triassic basins
Devonian-Carboniferous basins
VICTORIA
MUNGANA
RED DOME
"
"
Cairns
New England Orogen
WOLFRAM CAMP TUNGSTEN PROSPECT
Karumba
Mossman Orogen
Thomson Orogen
MAUREEN
Georgina Basin
North Australian Craton
COCKIE CREEK COPPER PROSPECT
"
BEN LOMOND
Townsville
20°
JULIA CREEK VANADIUM-MOLYBDENUM PROSPECT - ALISONA-RICHMOND
LINFIELD
ERNEST HENRY
"
N o r th er n Te r r i t o r y
Mount Isa
"
MILO
KALMAN
Cloncurry
LILYVALE
JULIVON CREEK PROSPECT
JULIA CREEK VANADIUM-MOLYBDENUM PROSPECT - ST ELMO-BURWOOD
"
0
50 100
Hughenden
"
200
Kilometres
Mackay
MERLIN/MOUNT DORE
"
ANTHONY
Winton
"
"
Clermont
"
Marlborough
"
Longreach
"
Emerald
Rockhampton
"
Gladstone
KAUFFMANS PROSPECT
WHITEWASH
"
Bundaberg
25°
CHINAMAN CREEK PROSPECT
Maryborough
"
Produced by Publication Graphics SGS, Geological Survey of Queensland September 2014.
© State of Queensland (Department of Natural Resources and Mines) 2014.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
Produced by Spatial and Graphic Services, Geological Survey of Queensland
© The State of Queensland (Department of Natural Resources and Mines) 2014
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
MOUNT BIGGENDEN
"
"
Charleville
"
Roma
"
Chinchilla
Dalby
ANDURAMBA PROSPECT
"
Toowoomba
"
N e w S o u th Wa l e s
Gympie
" Brisbane
Ipswich
"
14B\Factsheets\critical_elements
So u t h A u s tr a l i a
GSQ\14B\MG\CE\CrititcalElementWeb.mxd
COALSTOUN LAKES PORPHYRY COPPER PROSPECT