Compositional and phase relations among rare earth element minerals

Abstract

A review is presented that mainly treats minerals in which the rare-earth elements are essential constituents, e.g., bastnaesite, monazite, xenotime, aeschynite, allanite. The chemical mechanisms and limits of REE substitution in some rock-forming minerals (zircon, apatite, titanite, garnet) are also derived. Vector representation of complex coupled substitutions in selected REE-bearing minerals is examined and some comments on REE-partitioning between minerals as related to acid-based tendencies and mineral stabilities are presented. As the same or analogous coupled substitutions involving the REE occur in a wide variety of mineral structures, they are discussed together.