Rare earth elements cannot be enriched naturally.
Multiple geological studies demonstrate that rare earth elements can undergo substantial natural enrichment through geochemical processes, fluid exsolution, and mineral weathering.
The claim states that rare earth elements cannot be enriched naturally. Several retrieved papers explicitly discuss natural mechanisms of rare earth element enrichment, such as magmatic carbonatite mineralization (Paper 0), coastal sedimentary reworking (Paper 7), and geogenic enrichment in karst soils (Paper 11). Thus, the claim is directly refuted by established geological evidence.
Li Y, Wu LG, Yu Y, Yang L, Selby D, Li XH. Paleozoic carbonatites controlled rare-earth-elements mineralization at Bayan Obo.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads9481
Paper [0] demonstrates that multi-stage carbonatites naturally exsolve voluminous fluids and undergo water-rock interactions to form giant rare earth element deposits.
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Khedr MZ, Zaghloul H, Takazawa E, El-Nahas H, Azer MK, Mansour S, Zafar T, El-Shafei SA. Provenance and economic potential of Egyptian black sands: integrated mineralogical and geochemical insights.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-53761-4
Paper [7] shows that black sand deposits undergo natural coastal reworking and geological processes to form significant rare earth element concentrations.
Liu Q, Wang S, He T, Zhou J, Sun X, Bao L, Zhou W, Zhang N. Geochemical behavior and dietary exposure risks of rare earth elements in a soil-rice system from a typical karst catchment, Southwest China. 2026. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9787387/v1
Paper [11] documents significant geogenic enrichment of rare earth elements in natural karst landscapes.
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