Which province in China has the most rare earths?

The highest reserve is Bayan Obo in Mongolia, which has the title of "Rare Earth Capital".

The geographical distribution of rare earth deposits in China is extensive and relatively concentrated. Geologists have discovered thousands of mineral deposits, occurrences and concentrated mineralization areas in more than two thirds of the provinces (regions) in China.

In addition to Bayanobo in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, Gannan in Jiangxi, Peyo in Guangdong and Liangshan in Sichuan, rare earth deposits have also been discovered in Shandong, Hunan, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hubei, Henan, Shanxi, Liaoning, Shaanxi and Xinjiang provinces, but the resources are much less than those in concentrated mineralization areas.

98% of the total rare earth resources in China are distributed in Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shandong and other regions, forming a distribution pattern of north, south, east and west, with the characteristics of light in the north and heavy in the south.

Extended data

In nature, rare earths are mainly concentrated in granite, alkaline rocks, alkaline ultrabasic rocks and their related deposits. According to the chemical analysis of mineral crystals, there are three main modes of rare earth elements in minerals.

(1) Rare earth elements participate in the crystal lattice of minerals and constitute an indispensable part of minerals. This mineral is usually called rare earth mineral. Both monazite (REPO4) and bastnasite ([La, Ce]FCO3) belong to this category.

(2) Rare earth elements are dispersed in minerals in the form of isomorphic substitution of elements such as Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn and Zr. This mineral is abundant in nature, but the content of rare earth in most minerals is low. Fluorite and apatite containing rare earth belong to this category.

(3) Rare earth elements exist on the surface or between particles of some minerals in the state of ion adsorption. This kind of mineral belongs to weathering crust leaching type, and which mineral is adsorbed by rare earth ions is related to the parent rock contained in this mineral before weathering. The average content of rare earth elements in the crust is 165.35× 10-6 (thomas lee, 1976).

Rare earth elements mainly exist in the form of single minerals in nature. There are more than 250 kinds of rare earth minerals and minerals containing rare earth elements in the world, among which the content of rare earth is σ REE >; There are 50 ~ 65 species in 5.8%, which can be regarded as independent rare earth minerals. The important rare earth minerals are mainly fluorocarbon and phosphate.

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