carbonatite / alkaline
Rare earths prospectivityacross Australia, the USA, Canada & worldwide.
Carbonatite and alkaline-igneous rare earths, ranked and explained across Australia, the United States and Canada.
-
✓ Australia
Ranked targets
-
✓ United States
Ranked targets
-
✓ Canada
Ranked targets
- ✓
Everywhere else
Global model
Ranked targets come with national models in Australia, the United States and Canada. Everywhere else, the global model returns the prospectivity map, the geology behind it and a confidence read. Next, the models are retrained on the full record and new sources, such as hyperspectral imagery, before we use them to rank and select ground.
How we rank rare earths ground
From a country to a decision.
- 01 · Atlas
Know the ground
The geology, structure, recorded deposits, tenure and geochemistry over the ground, on one map with the source of every layer.
See Atlas - 02 · Open Ground
Find ground you can peg
Which ground is open, held or excluded, read from each licensing authority's own register.
See Open Ground - 03 · Prospectivity
Rank it for rare earths
The ground scored for rare earths, with the evidence behind it and ranked targets in Australia, the United States and Canada. Anywhere else, the global model maps rare earths.
See Prospectivity - 04 · Spectral
Map the alteration
The alteration minerals and the structures that control them, from satellite: regional to district scale, and camp scale from WorldView-3.
See Spectral - 05 · Due Diligence
Check before committing
Tenure, land access, environment and the real cost to hold and test a rare earths position.
See Due Diligence -
Talk to us about rare earths
Partners, investors, publishers and researchers.
The deposit system
The rare earths system.
Rare-earth elements (REE) are a group of seventeen metals (the lanthanides together with scandium and yttrium), prized for the magnetic, optical and catalytic properties that make them difficult to substitute. MineDSS models primary rare earths hosted in carbonatite and alkaline-igneous systems, the source of most of the world's mined REE supply.
Read more: the deposit model, why it matters and where it is used +
More on rare earths
In these settings the rare earths are concentrated by mantle-derived, carbonate- and alkali-rich magmatism rather than by surface weathering. The result is a distinctive high-field-strength-element footprint (enrichment in thorium, niobium and zirconium alongside barium and strontium), expressed in mapped intrusive geology, radiometric and magnetic response, and residual soil and stream geochemistry. That composite signature is what a prospectivity model learns from.
The deposit model
Carbonatite and alkaline-igneous systems form where volatile-rich magmas rise along deep-seated structures, commonly in stable cratonic or rift settings and often as ring complexes, plugs and cross-cutting dyke swarms. Host rocks range from carbonatites and their fenitised country-rock aureoles to nepheline syenites and related silica-undersaturated intrusions, with rare earths carried in phases such as monazite, bastnäsite, and associated niobium- and zirconium-bearing minerals.
Why it matters
Many rare earths are designated critical minerals across major economies because they underpin technologies with few practical substitutes and supply that is geographically concentrated. Neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium in particular are central to the high-performance permanent magnets used in electrification and defence. Demand is drawn by the growth of electric drivetrains, wind generation and advanced electronics, alongside a strategic push to diversify supply chains. Because primary carbonatite and alkaline sources are comparatively rare and long-lived, disciplined identification of prospective ground carries real economic and policy weight.
Where it's used
Rare earths concentrate in a small number of high-value applications. Neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnets drive electric-vehicle motors, wind turbines, hard-disk drives, robotics and defence systems. Lanthanum and cerium serve as catalysts in refining and emissions control and as polishing and glass additives. Europium, terbium and yttrium provide phosphors for displays and lighting, gadolinium supports medical imaging, and erbium and yttrium feature in fibre-optics and specialty lasers and alloys. Even small additions can be decisive to performance.
Questions
Rare earths: common questions.
Which rare-earth deposit types does MineDSS model? +
MineDSS models primary rare earths hosted in carbonatite and alkaline-igneous systems: the mantle-derived, carbonate- and alkali-rich intrusive settings that supply most mined REE. This is the classic high-field-strength-element association, enriched in thorium, niobium and zirconium alongside barium and strontium. The model targets that primary hard-rock signature; it does not model weathering-hosted ion-adsorption clay deposits, which form and are explored quite differently.
How is the model tested, and where can I run rare earths? +
Every MineDSS model is tested before it is served: we withhold whole blocks of ground, rebuild the model without them, and check that it still ranks the anomalous samples there above background, with test ground kept spatially separate. A model that does not pass our release gates is not used, for any mineral, in any country. National models for rare earths run in Australia, the United States and Canada, with ranked targets. Anywhere else in the world, the global model returns the prospectivity map, the geology behind it and a confidence read. Skill is model-level, never a specific site's measured accuracy, and never a discovery or JORC / NI 43-101 resource claim.
Do the rankings amount to a discovery or a resource estimate? +
No. MineDSS ranks the relative prospectivity of ground for carbonatite and alkaline-hosted rare earths to help focus early-stage exploration. It is not a discovery, not a JORC or NI 43-101 resource estimate, and not investment or drilling advice. Prospective ground still requires field validation, sampling and the full technical and regulatory work that any exploration programme entails.
-
Partners
Exploration and mining companies interested in working with us.
-
Investors
The record, the models and the ground they point to.
-
Publishers and researchers
Geological surveys, universities and programmes whose work the record is built on.
MineDSS ranks prospectivity to help you decide where to explore next. It is not a discovery, not a JORC or NI 43-101 resource or reserve estimate, and not drilling or investment advice.