Types of Deposits of Rare Earth Elements on the Example of Kazakhstan Deposits

Today it is difficult to name a field of technology in which rare and rare earth elements would not be used. Rare earth elements (rare earths) include yttrium, lanthanum and 13 elements of the lanthanide group (cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium). These elements are actively used in nuclear power, radio electronics, aviation and rocket technology, machine and instrument engineering. REE is often referred to as a single group, in practice, each individual element has a specific set of end uses, and therefore the demand for them varies. There are several different types of natural (primary) REE resources, including those formed as a result of high-temperature geological processes (carbonatites, alkaline rocks, vein and scar deposits), and those formed as a result of low-temperature processes (placers, laterites, bauxites and ion-adsorption clays). The article examines the balance of individual REE in each type of deposits on the example of deposits in Kazakhstan.