Rare Earth Element Is Potential In The Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain, Geological Survey Finds

Rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain is highly potential, according to the latest integrated geological survey. The scientists also analyze the sedimentary differences of the region to gather further data.

From the findings, according to the Geological Society of America, there is a high possibility of the rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain. This is shown through the integrated geophysical, geochemical, mineralogical, and geological analysis.

Rare earth minerals are very important for the advancement of technology. The minerals are needed for cell phones, renewable energy and event for the defense systems. Scientists have analyzed the potential of rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain for years. This time, scientists explore the availability of heavy mineral sand deposits to determine the presence of the rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain.

The analysis of the heavy mineral sand resources to search for the rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain have been conducted for years. In 2010, U.S. Geological Survey published the report of "Deposit Model for Heavy-Mineral Sands in Coastal Environments" as part of the USGS Scientific Investigations Report. The report described a model of sedimentary deposits of dense heavy minerals in the U.S. coastal environment, showing the first indication of rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain.

Further analysis, conducted last year, showed the correlations between thorium, monazite, and xenotime in the regional difference analysis. This suggests the radiometric equivalent thorium (eTh) can be used as a geophysical proxy for the rare earth element, which further indicates the presence of rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain.

Rare earth minerals are the minerals containing rare earth metal. Although its name describe its scarcity, but the rare earth minerals are quite abundant in the Earth crust, with the U.S. dominates the mining of the mineral. The finding of another rare earth mineral element in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain will strengthen the U.S. position as the leader in rare earth mineral mining such as iridium, sillimanite/kyanite, staurolite, monazite and garnet