The study of distribution of monazite and REE in the Marvast alluvium, Yazd, Iran

A total of 50 boreholes have been drilled in the sediments of the study area in south west of Marvast. Based on heavy minerals investingation, the amount of monazite in these sediments rangs from 50 to 525 gram per tons. Analysis of monazites from Marvast and sediment samples with ICP-MS and normalization of some data with upper earth crust and chondrite showed that Marvast monazite enriched in all of REE specially LREE. The source rock of monazite is Upper Triassic black shale which is interbedded with sandstone, limestone and conglomerate. Erosion and weathering of these rocks have released monazite and enriched them in the sediments nearby. Iso-grade maps of  monazite in different depths from 1 to 6 m showed that the strongest and the most widely anomalies are at the depth 1 m, and with increasing the depth, intensity and distribation of the anomalies decreased, as the deepest anomaly has 5 meters thickness. Also, with the simple comparison, a good correlation exists between the presence of anomalies and the thickness of sediments or the depth of bed rock.