Abstract: Rare earth element (REE) is a general term for the 17 elements including 15 lanthanide elements and Sc and Y. Because of its irreplaceable role in manufacturing, metallurgy and other industries, REE has earned the title of “industrial vitamin”. Deemed as one of superior strategic mineral resources, the share of China’s REE resource in the global reserves has declined sharply in recent decades due to over reliance on and exploitation of a few super large deposits. Therefore, it is urgent to conduct an indepth investigation on the geological characteristics, metallogenic regularity and resource potential evaluation of REEs in China. Since it is one of the REE rich countries in the world and possesses of complete REEs, a great deal of work has been done on REE metallogenic theory in China. Here, we carried out comprehensive analyses of REE metallogenic potential prediction of various provinces, using prediction model and comprehensive geological information prediction method with MapGIS platform. According to spatiotemporal distribution of REE deposits, and magmatite, tectonic and stratigraphic control factors, as well as tectonic units, we identified 17 rare earth metallogenic zones. We also screened typical ore deposits of different genesis and summarized their geological features and metallogenic types. Further, we established prediction models of REE deposits, such as sedimentary metamorphic, magmatic and ion adsorption of weathering crust types. A total of 930 minimum prospective areas were delineated nationally, amounting to approximately 327.00 million tons of cumulative forecast REE resources. According to the regional metallogenic characteristics of REE deposits, we classified the minimum prospective areas as levelII prospective areas, which were further merged into 133 levelIII prospective areas. In addition, the amount of REE resources was documented according to metallogenic belt, prediction depth, geological reliability and utilizability. We selected 6 levelIII priority prospective areas including YunkaiDashan and DasiXiaodong in Guangxi, Bayan Obo and Baerzhe in Inner Mongolia, MiaoyaJiangjiayan in Hubei and Mianning in Sichuan, based on metallogenic geological conditions favorable for mineral potential analysis. This work can provide guidance for further REE exploration.

Key words:  REE deposit, metallogenic geological characteristics, resource potential evaluation, prediction model