A new method for processing of low-grade monazite concentrates

It is very tedious to separate thorium and rare earth elements from their accompanying constituents in low-grade monazite (concentrate 50%) containing large amount of phosphorus species, illiminite, silica and zircon. Therefore, trials have been suggested to develop a new procedure to enhance the separation process of the light lanthanides from low-grade Egyptian monazite concentrates. The first point is focused on the removal of phosphorus species from the digested low-grade monazite with sulfuric acid in order to get more convenient separation. The removal was accomplished by extractive washing of sulfate paste with different alcohols. The results showed that the extractive removal of phosphorus species was not effective due to the complex nature of low-grade monazite concentrate. The second point is focused on the enhancement of separation process of uranium, thorium and rare earth elements by new ratio of sulfuric acid and develops the classical separation process. By this modified procedure, the overall results obtained revealed that the unleached residue contains mainly Si, Fe, Zr, and Ti while the elements of main consideration such as uranium, thorium and light rare earth elements were completely leached. Thorium and light rare earth elements (LREEs) were directly separated as white precipitate while the uranium was moved to the green acid solution with most of phosphorus species. This throws light on the possibility of separation of thorium and light rare earth elements from uranium, which represents a novel method.     

Behavior of radium,thorium and uranium in groundwater near the Buena Lagoon in the Coastal Zone of the State of Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Groundwater found near the head of the Buena Lagoon in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has high salinity and low pH values. There is a strong correlation between concentrations of radium and light rare earth elements (LREEs) that suggests the leaching of monazite as a common source. Radium is present predominantly as ²²⁸Ra. The factors responsible for high radium mobility in groundwater seem to be high levels of salinity resulting in the competition for adsorption sites, and low pH values resulting in the limited adsorption of Ra²⁺ on the positively-charged surface of adsorbents. The behavior of uranium and thorium is also influenced by their speciation and low pH conditions. Uranium is present as a positively charged uranyl ion UO₂²⁺ in low pH samples and is very mobile. Similarly, the presence of positively charged Th⁴⁺ and thorium complexes with sulfate result in relatively high thorium concentrations at a low pH range. On the other hand, the mobility of phosphate released by dissolving monazite is probably reduced due to its adsorption and precipitation close to its source.     

Recovery of thorium (IV) from leached monazite solutions using counter-current extraction

A flow sheet was developed to recover thorium from Egyptian monazite sands. The results of a detailed investigation on the extraction and stripping of thorium in the hydrous oxide are obtained after alkaline dissolution followed by leaching with alkaline carbonate solutions. This cake was dissolved in 4 M HNO₃ and thorium was extracted selectively by a counter-current extraction system using a mixer–settler contactor and Aliquat-336 in kerosene as extractant. The results show that 2 h of continuous operation are necessary to reach the steady state condition for the process. The extraction efficiency is found to be 80% and the stripping efficiency is 82%.     

Mineralogical Characteristics of the Separated Magnetic Rutile of the Egyptian Black Sands

The Egyptian black sands contain several economic minerals, such as ilmenite, magnetite, garnet, zircon, rutile and monazite. During the concentration and separation of a high-grade rutile concentrate a bulk magnetic fraction is obtained. This fraction is composed mainly of opaques, titanhematite, ilmenite–titanhematite exsolved intergrown grains, magnetic leucoxene in addition to chromite, and magnetic rutile. The magnetic rutile occupies 6 wt.% of the bulk magnetic fraction or approx. 4 wt.% of the original rutile content in the raw sands. Most of magnetic rutile crystals are contaminated with opaque inclusions, staining-coating and/or composite locked grains. This magnetic rutile has a magnetic range from strongly paramagnetic to very weak paramagnetic. Electron microprobe analysis for twenty-three magnetic rutile grains identified mineral components of rutile, titanhematite, pseudorutile, leached pseudorutile and ilmenite in decreasing order of abundance. Some other inclusions are also detected in the different magnetic rutile grains. They are most probably garnet, silica, amphibole, ilmenite, feldspar, mica and zircon. The presence of these inclusions reflect the derivation of magnetic rutile of various crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks. The magnetic susceptibility of magnetic rutile depends on the associated mineral components and their relative volumes in comparison to the rutile mineral component. Magnetic susceptibility of magnetic rutile is also related to both type and size of the associated mineral inclusions. The average chemical composition of the magnetic rutile is 66.34 wt.% TiO₂, 21.71 wt.% Fe₂O₃, 6.39 wt.% SiO₂, 1.80 wt.% Al₂O₃, 1.19 wt.% CaO and 0.10 wt.% Cr₂O₃. Thus, the contamination of magnetic rutile in the non-magnetic rutile concentrate would decrease the market value of the rutile concentrate. Alternatively these magnetic rutile grains are recommended to be blended with magnetic leucoxene or some types of ilmenite concentrate to improve the overall marketable specifications especially for both of Ti, Fe and Cr contents.     

Monazite in Hydrothermal Veins from Alinci,Yugoslavia

Summary A new occurrence of monazite from Alinci, SE Yugoslavia, is described. Crystal morphology studies showed that crystals possess a platelike habit on T01 which we regard as a hitherto unknown morphological feature of monazite. The material has been analysed for uranium, thorium and rare earth element content using gamma spectrometry and inductively coupled argon-plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICPAES). The monazite displays a complex chemical composition, essentially given as (REE+Y,Th,U,Fe)_1.001P_0.988O₄. The infrared absorption spectra and X-ray diffraction data are in agreement with those for terrestrial monazite, although they indicate minor structural variations caused by the REE distribution in the Alinci monazite.

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Monazit aus hydrothermalen Gängen von Alinci, Jugoslawien

Zusammenfassung Es wird ein neues Monazitvorkommen von Alinci, Jugoslawien, beschrieben. Kristallmorphologische Studien zeigten, daß die Kristalle einen plattigen Habitus nach (T01) aufweisen, eine nach Wissen der Autoren bisher unbekannte morphologische Erscheinung bei Monazit. Das Material wurde auf die Uran-, Thorium- und Seltenerdgehalte mit Gamma-Spektrometrie und induktiv gekoppelter Argonplasma-Atomabsorptions-Spektrometrie (ICPAES) analysiert. Der Monazit zeigt eine komplexe chemische Zusammensetzung, die im wesentlichen als (REE+Y,Th,U,Fe)_1.001P_0.988O₄ angegeben werden kann. Die Ultrarotspektren und die Röntgenbeugungs-Daten stimmen mit jenen von terrestrischem Monazit überein, obwohl sie kleine strukturelle Variationen anzeigen, die durch die REE-Verteilung im Monazit von Alinci verursacht sind.

     

Resolving Cambrian, Carboniferous, Permian and Alpine monazite generations in the polymetamorphic basement of eastern Crete (Greece) by means of the electron microprobe

The electron-microprobe-based investigation of accessory monazites in polished thin sections is a helpful tool in resolving the geochronology of a polymetamorphic basement. The method was applied to variably altered gneisses and micaschists from the retrogressed, originally amphibolite-facies basement in eastern Crete (Greece). The presented data indicate that most monazite formed or recrystallized in response to high fluid activity during Alpine low-temperature metamorphism. This low-temperature monazite is characterized by distinctly low yttrium, uranium and thorium contents. However, older grains were able to survive in less retrogressed samples and have been traced with the electron microprobe, using microstructural and compositional criteria. In-situ chemical Th–U–Pb dating of these pre-Alpine monazites provides evidence for an igneous event in the Cambrian, and two different metamorphic events in the Carboniferous and Permian.     

Aureoles of Pb(II)-enriched feldspar around monazite in paragneiss and anatectic pods of the Napier Complex,Enderby Land,East Antarctica: the roles of dissolution-reprecipitation and diffusion

Extraordinarily high Pb content in K-feldspar and plagioclase has been found contiguous to monazite in two occurrences in the ultrahigh-temperature Napier Complex of Antarctica. Monazite shows a variety of textures and compositions. In a garnet-sillimanite-orthopyroxene paragneiss at Mount Pardoe (Amundsen Bay), grains range 80–150 μm across and are anhedral; two grains are Th- and Si-dominant. In pods that crystallized from anatectic melts at 2500 Ma at Zircon Point, Casey Bay, monazite grains range 0.05 mm–1 cm in length and are highly variable in texture. The coarsest grains (>0.7 cm) are skeletal and euhedral, whereas the smallest grains are anhedral and associated with fine- to medium-grained quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, garnet, sillimanite and rutile in aggregates that form interstitial veinlets interpreted to be a second generation of anatexis during an event at 1100 Ma. The huttonite component (ThSiO₄) reaches 30 mole% in the cores of the coarsest skeletal grains, whereas other grains, particularly smaller ones, show complex and irregular zoning in Th and U. The latter zoning is attributed to dissolution-reprecipitation, which also resulted in complete Pb loss during the 1100 Ma event. In the paragneiss at Mount Pardoe, K-feldspar and myrmekitic plagioclase (An16) are found in a 70–80 μm band between monazite and orthopyroxene and contain up to 12.7 wt.% and 2.7 wt.% PbO, respectively, corresponding to 18.5% and 3.4% PbAl₂Si₂O₈ component, respectively. Cathodoluminescence of both feldspars increases with distance from a nearby monazite grain and is not correlated with Pb content. Incorporation of Pb in K-feldspar and plagioclase could be a result of diffusion, even though the monazite adjacent to feldspar apparently lost little Pb, i.e., Pb could have been transported by fluid from the Th-rich grains, which did lose Pb. In contrast to the paragneiss, cathodoluminescence correlates with Pb content of K-feldspar in aureoles surrounding skeletal monazite grains 0.7–1 cm across in anatectic pods at Zircon Point. Pb content of K-feldspar decreases monotonically to near detection limits within several millimetres of monazite grains; the greatest PbO concentration is attained in K-feldspar inliers and embayments in monazite, 8.8 wt.%, corresponding to 11.7% PbAl₂Si₂O₈ component. Fine-grained quartz in the K-feldspar suggests that the mechanism for Pb incorporation involved breakdown of feldspar: Pb²⁺ + 2(K,Na)AlSi₃O₈ → PbAl₂Si₂O₈ + 4SiO₂ + 2(K,Na)⁺ . The smooth decrease of Pb in the aureoles is not characteristic of dissolution-reprecipitation, which is characterized by abrupt changes of composition, and it seems more likely that Pb was incorporated in K-feldspar by diffusion at 1100 Ma. We suggest a model whereby fluid introduced during the 1100 Ma event flowed along grain boundaries and penetrated mineral grains. Temperatures were sufficiently high, i.e., 700°C, assuming burial in the mid-crust, for the fluid to induce localized melting of quartzofeldspathic matrix of the anatectic pods. Loss of radiogenic Pb was complete. Some penetration of K-feldspar by aqueous fluid is suggested by the presence of scattered galena specks and by rays of turbidity emanating from monazite. Aqueous fluid or water-rich granitic melt may have mediated the diffusion of Pb in feldspar, but it did not cause dissolution-reprecipitation. Although Pb was mobilized by aqueous fluid or water-rich granitic melt, it was not entirely flushed from the immediate vicinity of the monazite, but nearly half was incorporated in adjacent feldspar. Fluid activity that could cause Pb loss in monazite does not always leave an obvious trace, i.e., hydrous minerals, such as sericite, are very sparse, and biotite is absent in the anatectic pods at Zircon Point. Nonetheless, electron microprobe dating of monazite from the pods could not detect the 2500 Ma age of original crystallization determined by isotopic dating.     

Sulfur-rich monazite with high common Pb in ore-bearing schists from the Schellgaden mining district (Tauern Window, Eastern Alps)

The compositional variation of accessory monazite in ore bearing micaschists from the Schellgaden mining district, Tauern Window, Eastern Alps, was studied by means of the electron microprobe. In ore-rich domains monazite yields unusually high sulfur contents (up to 2.5?wt.% SO₃), which enter the monazite structure together with Ca and Sr as ??anhydrite-celestine?? component replacing P and REEs. The exchange reaction is S⁶⁺+ (Ca, Sr)²⁺ = REE³⁺+ P⁵⁺. Sulfur-rich monazite is intergrown with anglesite, pyromorphite or galena and shows oscillatory zoning indicating growth from S-bearing fluids. This type of S-enriched monazite yields very high common lead contents (up to 0.5?wt.% PbO) and unrealistic high apparent Th-U-total Pb single dates (> 1?Ga). However, S-enriched monazite grains provide a flat trendline in the Th* vs. Pb isochron diagram similar to the trendline defined through low-S, and low-Pb monazite crystals (0.1?C1?wt.% SO₃, < 0.05?wt.% PbO), which were observed in ore-poor parts of micaschists. Results from this study imply an Alpine rather than a pre-Alpine formation age for monazite and a strong S-rich fluid activity during the Alpine orogeny. Apart from this geological aspect, the current study also shows that the detection of sulfur in monazite may serve as a warning for a possible presence of common Pb.     

电子探针技术研究粤北龙华山岩体中独居石蚀变晕圈的结构与成分特征

独居石是华南产铀花岗岩中常见的含铀副矿物.龙华山岩体是粤北诸广山复式岩体中一个重要的产铀花岗岩,该岩体的独居石具有蚀变晕圈现象.但是,该岩体中独居石蚀变晕圈的结构和成分特征以及对铀成矿的指示意义尚未开展研究.本文利用电子探针(EPMA)对龙华山岩体的独居石蚀变晕圈开展结构和成分研究.测试结果表明:独居石蚀变晕圈是从内到...     

Minor Phases as Carriers of Trace Elements in Non-Modal Crystal-Liquid Separation Processes I: Basic Relationships

Some trace elements have the property that, although they areincompatible with most mineral phases in magmatic systems, theyare strongly concentrated in certain minor mineral phases. Theseminor phases, termed here ‘carrier-phases’, andtheir associated trace elements include platinum group elementsin base metal sulphide and chromite; chromium and vanadium inmagnetite; uranium group metals in zircon and monazite; andrare earth elements in monazite and xenotime. Carrier-phasesmay form only a small fraction of a source rock undergoing partialmelting and tend to be eliminated from the residue at an intermediatepoint in the partial melting history; conversely, those sameminor carrier-phases tend to precipitate late during fractionalcrystallization of a liquid produced in the above manner, butmay constitute a high proportion of the cumulate then forming.This paper explores the phase equilibria aspects of such processesin a simple system, outlining a nomenclature which is then usedin a mathematical treatment applicable to non-modal meltingand crystallization processes involving several crystal species.The treatment at this stage assumes constant individual crystal–liquiddistribution coefficients. Equations are developed, which areapplied in a companion paper to illustrate the behaviour thatcan be anticipated when carrier-phases play a significant rolein trace element location during melting and crystallization. KEY WORDS: uranium; thorium; platinum group elements; carrier-phase; trace element     

微量矿物中稀土钍铀锆铌钽磷的纸色层分离与测定

稀土、钍、铀、锆、铌、钽、磷等元素的分离,以纸色层方法为简易快速^[1,2]。但现有方法均采用沉淀或其它方法将稀土与大部份伴生元素分离后再进行色层分离,或经多次色层达到分离,失去纸色层方法的优越性。本文为适应微量矿物分析,利用各元素氟化物溶解度不同,一些离子的盐酸络合物可被酮类、醇类等有机溶剂萃取,及它们的分配系数各有差异,选用丁醇-氢氟酸-盐酸体系进行纸上分离,使稀土与其它伴生元素达到一次分离,然后分别进行测定。     

Nodular monazite from placers in the Kular Ridge (Arctic Siberia,Russia): Composition and age

Nodular monazite occurs in metamorphic rocks worldwide and has zonal REE patterns. This paper focuses on the composition of nodular monazite hosted by Permian black shales of the Kular Ridge in the Kular-Nera terrane. This monazite variety (called kularite in the Russian literature) reaches commercial amounts in placers of the area. The contents of Ce, Nd, and La in the analyzed monazite nodules show correlations at Ce/Nd = 14.39La + 0.0919 (in apfu) and Ce/Nd = 0.2318La + 0.1135 (in wt.%) and vary regularly from core to rim. All monazite compositions fall on this trend, but specific grains may plot in its different parts. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that monazite forms via an intermediate precursor (LnPO₄·2H₂O). The Ce:La:Nd changes in different grains record Eh-pH variations during nucleation and a gradual temperature increase during subsequent growth. The Ce:La:Nd ratio changes partly in grain rims as a result of oxidative dissolution. Judging by the tectonic setting, REE came to the Kular-Nera rocks from the weathered Tomtor Nb-REE deposit, being transported by the Paleo-Khatanga River with monazite nanoparticles bound to the surface of clay minerals.     

The Equilibrium Coefficient Kp and Petroleum Exploration:Design of the New Generation of Petroleum Exploration Instrument

The main reason why the application of nuclear technology in petroleum exploration has not yet been accepted by most exploration workers is that they are not clear about the homologous distribution features of oil and gas fields and radioactive radiation. The authors hold that the disequilibrium of uranium, radium and radon as a natural radioactive series is the basic feature in the use of this technology in petroleum exploration. The invention Gamma-ray Spectral Measurement of the Equilibium Coefficient Kp and Its Embodiment of the senior author now can readily solve that problem and replace the impedient measure of normalization of uranium and potassium to thorium that had to be proposed before. Application of this impedient measure has some limitations. In areas where the surface is covered by beach or river sands, thorium minerals such as monazite may be concentrated by placering. This could result in local thorium highs that would yield local uranium and potassium lows after normalization to thoriu     

X射线荧光光谱法测定稀土精矿中的稀土元素分量

氟碳铈矿、独居石、磷钇矿和风化壳淋积型稀土矿四种稀土精矿样品采用化学法预分离富集,X射线荧光光谱法测定样品中稀土元素和伴生的铀、钍元素含量,选择以硼酸盐为主的混合熔剂高温熔融制样,消除矿物间存在的矿物结构影响,通过加大熔剂稀释比降低元素间的基体效应,人工标准样品绘制标准曲线,用数学校正方法校正元素间的谱线重叠效应。对淋积型稀土矿样品重复测定12次,方法检出限为0.9～42.1μg/g,待测组分的相对标准偏差(RSD)均小于10%,测定结果与电感耦合等离子体质谱法的测定值基本吻合。此方法应用于国家一级标准物质稀土标准样品定值工作,检出限和精密度能够满足分析要求,报出数据被采用率达到100%。     

Occurrence and paragenesis of diagenetic monazite in the upper Triassic black shales of the Marvast region, South Yazd, Iran

Upper Triassic-Jurassic black shale at Marvast, Iran, contains grey to green-grey ellipsoidal nodules of monazite ranging from 0.1 to 2?mm across. The presence of host-rock mineral inclusions within the monazite grains, low Th content in the monazite, lack of relict yellow cores (characteristic of igneous monazite), and the absence of monazite in the other sedimentary sequences in the Marvast area rule out a detrital origin for the monazite nodules and suggest authigenic crystallization during sediment compaction. Enrichment of the cores of the monazite grains in mid-range to heavy rare-earth elements (REE) and their rims in La + Ce point to variations in the degree of REE mobility and/or evolving composition of the diagenetic mineralizing fluid during nodule growth. The phosphorus and REE required for monazite crystallization were probably derived from seawater and adsorbed on clays and Fe-Mn hydroxides. The interstitial fluids expelled from the sediments during burial compaction and diagenesis became enriched in P and REE through complexing. The association of the Marvast monazite nodules with the black shale may indicate that organic complexes aided in the mobilization and transport of the REE into the pore fluids. Detailed field investigations in the study area and vicinity show that authigenic monazite in the upper Triassic-Jurassic shale sections is spatially associated with quartz lenses. It is likely that these lenses are surface expressions of shallow intrusive magmas, which provided the heat that promoted the mobilization and redistribution of the REE and P, and initiated precipitation of monazite in the overlying sediments.     

Mineral chemical study of U-bearing minerals from the Dominion Reefs,South Africa

The Neo-Archean Dominion Reefs (~3.06 Ga) are thin meta-conglomerate layers with concentrations of U- and Th-bearing heavy minerals higher than in the overlying Witwatersrand Reefs. Ore samples from Uranium One Africa’s Rietkuil and Dominion exploration areas near Klerksdorp, South Africa, were investigated for their mineral paragenesis, texture and mineral chemical composition. The ore and heavy mineral assemblages consist of uraninite, other uraniferous minerals, Fe sulphides, Ni–Co sulfarsenides, garnet, pyrite, pyrrhotite, monazite, zircon, chromite, magnetite and minor gold. Sub-rounded uraninite grains occur associated with the primary detrital heavy mineral paragenesis. U–Ti, U–Th minerals, pitchblende (colloform uraninite) and coffinite are of secondary, re-mobilised origin as evidenced by crystal shape and texture. Most of the uranium mineralisation is represented by detrital uraninite with up to 70.2 wt.% UO₂ and up to 9.3 wt.% ThO₂. Re-crystallised phases such as secondary pitchblende (without Th), coffinite, U–Ti and U–Th phases are related to hydrothermal overprint during low-grade metamorphism and are of minor abundance.     

Pb isotopic composition,colour, and microstructure of monazites from a polymetamorphic rock in Antarctica

A moderate- to high-grade regionally metamorphosed paragneiss from Antarctica contains monazites of several different colours — brown, yellow and grey. Each colour type has a distinctive U-Pb isotopic composition which appears to result from different proportions of radiogenic Pb loss. Isotopic differences are neither related to La, Nd, Ce, P, Ca, Ti (and/or Ba), nor to U or Th content. All colour types have similar structures at the submicron scale, as determined by both conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These show that the grains are essenttially non-metamict but are composed of 100 Å crystalline domains misoriented from each other by no more than 2× 10^–3 radians, and separated by narrow confused boundary regions where misorientation is probably accommodated by imperfect atomic arrangements. These regions of mismatch form potential zones of high permeability/diffusivity which are believed to be fundamental to the isotopic and colour differences between grains. Colour type is apparently related to the capacity of different minerals to shield included monazite grains from fluids circulating in the rock system.The well aligned monazite U — Pb analyses produce concordia intercepts of 2429 _–16 ⁺¹⁷ Ma and 1087±29 Ma. Both ages are comparable to those of major geological events in this part of Antarctica. They are interpreted in terms of isotopic resetting through Pb loss, and original monazite crystallisation is thought to have occurred somewhat earlier, possibly at the time this terrain first underwent granulite-facies metamorphism, about 3070 Ma ago.     

邹家山铀矿床伴生重稀土元素的赋存特征

初步研究发现,相山矿田邹家山矿床中伴生有较高的重稀土元素,回收这些珍稀的资源和探索其成因具有重要的意义,而查明这些伴生稀土在铀矿床中的赋存特征是前期基础性工作。为此本文采用电子探针和激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱分析了邹家山铀矿床中稀土元素的赋存状态。结果显示：该矿床稀土矿物主要为独居石、氟碳钙铈矿和磷钇矿;独居石、氟碳钙铈矿的LREE/HREE>1,为轻稀土富集型;而磷钇矿的LREE/HREE<1,为重稀土富集型。沥青铀矿、钛铀矿、铀钍石、铀石、钍石、锆石等铀钍矿物的稀土特征为重稀土富集型;铀钍矿物稀土总量（∑REE+Y）较高,为（3 805.78~65 307.00）×10^-6,LREE/HREE<1,为0.01~0.80,平均为0.29。其他伴生矿物磷灰石、钾长石为轻稀土富集型,萤石为轻、重稀土富集型两类都有,而伊利石、黄铁矿的轻重稀土无明显相对富集。重稀土在磷钇矿和铀钍矿物中以类质同象形式存在,少量赋存于伴生矿物。     

极谱法同时测定岩石中的微量铀钍

试样经过氧化钠熔融后,用硝酸溶液提取熔块,加入十六烷基三甲基溴化铵（CTMAB）凝聚硅胶,过滤除硅,TBP萃淋树脂分离富集铀钍。在含0．02g／L四丁基碘化铵-4g／L铜铁试剂、pH=5的乙酸-乙酸钠极谱测定体系中同时测定铀钍,铀钍的线性范围为0．001～0．500μg／10mL。本法用于含铀岩石中微量铀钍的同时测定,结果令人满意。     

Formation of monazite via prograde metamorphic reactions among common silicates: implications for age determinations

Three lines of evidence from schists of the Great Smoky Mountains, NC, indicate that isogradic monazite growth occurred at the staurolite-in isograd at ∼600°C: (1) Monazite is virtually absent below the staurolite-in isograd, but is ubiquitous (several hundred grains per thin section) in staurolite- and kyanite-grade rocks. (2) Many monazite grains are spatially associated with biotite coronas around garnets, formed via the reaction Garnet + Chlorite + Muscovite = Biotite + Plagioclase + Staurolite + H₂O. (3) Garnets contain high-Y annuli that result from prograde dissolution of garnet via the staurolite-in reaction, followed by regrowth, and rare monazite inclusions occur immediately outside the annulus and in the matrix, but not in the garnet core. Larger monazite grains also exhibit quasi-continuous Th zoning with high Th cores and low Th rims, consistent with monazite growth via a single reaction and fractional crystallization during prograde growth. Common silicates may host sufficient P and LREEs that reactions among them can produce observable LREE phosphate. Specifically phosphorus contents of garnet and plagioclase are hundreds of parts per million, and dissolution of garnet and recrystallization of plagioclase could form thousands of phosphate grains several micrometers in diameter per thin section. LREEs may be more limiting, but sheet silicates and plagioclase can contain tens to ∼100 (?) ppm LREE, so recrystallization of these silicates to lower LREE contents could produce hundreds of grains of monazite per thin section. Monazite ages, determined via electron and ion microprobes, are ∼400 Ma, directly linking prograde Barrovian metamorphism of the Western Blue Ridge with the “Acadian” orogeny, in contrast to previous interpretations that metamorphism was “Taconian” (∼450 Ma). Interpretation of ages from metamorphic monazite grains will require prior chemical characterization and identification of relevant monazite-forming reactions, including reactions previously viewed as involving solely common silicates.