Project Description

The growing need for high-tech raw materials and the uncertainty of their supply put society in a situation requiring an assessment of the raw material potential of Europe and Bulgaria. The number of critical raw materials exceeded 30, including the light (Li, Be) and rare earth elements that have no known deposits in the country. Modern knowledge of the contents of these elements in various geological objects is unsystematic and fragmentary due to poor study and analytical limitations. 
The LiBeRE project aims to conduct fundamental scientific research through an innovative research approach to acquire new systematic data on the contents of Li, Be, REE in mineral objects of different origins and to determine the prospects for potential alternative sources of these critical raw materials in different mineralizations in the Bulgaria. 
The expected results are related to new data on the contents, concentrator minerals and geological factors responsible for the enrichment of Li, Be, REE in various rocks and minerals in Bulgaria. Based on the obtained results, it is planned to outline regularities in the distribution and behavior of the studied elements and a preliminary assessment of perspective areas in Bulgaria. 
The combination of quantitative field observations and an analytical approach will contribute to the understanding of: 1) the main geological factors controlling the formation of Li, Be, REE-bearing mineralizations and their position in the geological context; 2) determination of rocks and minerals that preferentially concentrate these elements; 3) source of metals in different-origin systems, important for the conceptual model of potential deposits; 4) using signatures of secondary elements to trace a possible source; 5) assessment of the potential and prospects of the studied mineralizations as alternative sources. 
The results of the project will be presented at scientific forums and published in refereed publications in compliance with the principle of open science.