Water and ice may reveal where rare earth elements are hiding

We hear about minerals all the time. Lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements appear in the news almost every week.

These minerals power phones, electric cars, and military equipment. Countries want them, companies want them, and the competition for the minerals keeps growing.

While leaders plan and companies race, some scientists study a different part of the story. They ask questions about where these minerals come from and how they move underground.

Geologist Zachary Burton works on these questions. He studies natural processes instead of using drills or machines.

Rare earth elements are hard to find

“Rare earth elements aren’t technically rare – they are somewhat ubiquitous at very low concentrations – but highly concentrated, economically attractive deposits are indeed rare and hard to find,” Burton explained.

In the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University, Burton has been studying these elements for almost 15 years.

The problem is simple. Scientists do not fully understand how these minerals move or gather in one place.

“That’s in large part because we don’t even know many fundamental scientific processes of why they concentrate in certain areas and how they’re moving around,” Burton said.

A desert deep in Antarctica

Burton recently studied these minerals in a very cold place: Antarctica‘s McMurdo Dry Valleys. This part of Antarctica is dry, windy, and extremely cold. It has unusual landscapes that look similar to other planets.

Burton’s team investigated how rare earth minerals move in this polar desert. They focused on salt ponds in the area, including Don Juan Pond, VXE-6 Pond, and Brine Pond Number 1.

The team found something intriguing. In Don Juan Pond, mineral levels were low in the center – likely because chemicals had washed them away.

However, minerals had gathered underground in two specific spots: one about 10 to 12 centimeters deep (roughly 4 to 5 inches) west of Don Juan Pond, and another about 4 to 7 centimeters deep (around 1.5 to 2.75 inches) beneath VXE-6 Pond.

Freezing and melting moves minerals

The places with more minerals had another feature. The soil there contained clay-like materials. These formed through chemical changes.

The reason for this process was clear. Water froze and melted many times. The ponds also changed in size. These actions moved the minerals.

Water carried the minerals. When the water froze, the minerals stayed behind in the soil. This cycle repeated many times. Over the years, minerals gathered just below the surface.

Burton explained that similar things can happen in other cold areas. He pointed to Greenland and Ukraine, two places that are often in the news for their mineral resources.

“Rare earths are an area that’s been relatively neglected these past decades in terms of scientific research, but now – with these critical minerals constantly making headlines – there’s a whole lot to be learned in terms of where deposits are,” he said.

From Antarctica to other planets

Burton’s research is not only about Earth. It also connects to space. The Dry Valleys in Antarctica are similar to places on Mars. That makes them a good place to study processes that might also happen on other planets.

Space agencies, such as NASA, need to find resources beyond Earth. Burton’s work may help them plan future missions.

The study also included diagrams that showed how minerals move underground. Water flows below the surface, freezes, and leaves minerals behind. These findings may guide future work in space.

Rare mineral movement in hot deserts

Burton’s projects also focus on dry areas in the United States. He studies how minerals move in places like Nevada, Utah, and California’s Mojave Desert.

These regions are hot, dry, and full of desert basins. The goal is to understand how rare earth elements and lithium move and collect in such places.

Burton described the work as difficult but exciting. “It’s a challenge and a scramble, but also very exciting, because there’s a lot more for the world to learn in these areas.”

A new frontier for geology

Montana State University is now focusing more on this type of research. Alison Harmon, vice president for research and economic development at the university, said these studies matter.

“This will be an area where MSU can make an important contribution to national security and economic development in Montana and beyond,” said Harmon.

Burton’s research shows that minerals do not stay in one spot forever. Water, ice, and time keep moving them around. By studying how this happens, researchers can learn more about Earth’s resources and even about resources on other worlds.

The study is published in the journal Cold Regions Science and Technology.

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