Rare-earth mineral

A rare-earth mineral is a mineral whose principal element is a rare earth element. Yttrium is found in almost all rare earth minerals. Rare earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to per-alkaline igneous complexes, in pegmatites associated with alkaline magmas and in or associated with carbonatite intrusives. Perovskite mineral phases are common hosts to rare earth elements within the alkaline complexes. Mantle derived carbonate melts also are carriers of the rare earths. Hydrothermal deposits associated with alkaline magmatism contain a variety of rare earth minerals.

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The following includes the relatively common hydrothermal rare earth minerals and minerals which often contain significant rare earth substitution:

• aeschynite
• allanite
• apatite
• bastnäsite
• britholite
• brockite
• cerite
• fluocerite
• fluorite
• gadolinite
• monazite
• parisite
• stillwellite
• synchisite
• titanite
• xenotime
• zircon
• zirconolite

References

• Jones, Adrian P., Francis Wall and C. Terry Williams, esd. (1996) Rare Earth Minerals: Chemistry, origin and ore deposits, The Mineralogy Society Series #7, 372 pp. ISBN 978-0-412-61030-1