Rare Earth Elements in Plants of the Peak Range Volcanics (Queensland), Australia Exploration Target: A Biogeochemical Prospecting Tool

ABSTRACT Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are critical for high‐tech technologies in the green energy transition. The Peak Range Volcanics of Queensland, Australia, have a REE‐enriched geology which may become a mining target in the future. Indicator plants, which translocate metals (including REEs) to their foliar tissues in a proportional relation to the concentration in the soil, can potentially be used as a biogeochemical prospecting tool to locate ‘hidden’ REE deposits. This study aimed to determine REE accumulation of plants occurring on the REE‐enriched geology of the Peak Range Volcanics. A biogeochemical survey was conducted at the Peak Ranges and plant samples (and some soils) were collected across different peralkaline rhyolite domes, including the Christmas and Pitts Domes. Rock analytical data was available to serve as a baseline for REE enrichment of the area. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES) was used for elemental analysis of the plant and soil samples. The results confirm that rocks and soils at the Peak Ranges have high REE enrichment with an average of 1450 μg g −1 ƩREEs (total REEs). More than 100 plant samples were collected for chemical analysis and the 90 th percentile of 71 identified plants were categorized as REE indicator plants. Plants belonging to the Cannabaceae, Moraceae, and Malvaceae families had higher REE concentrations that those in other “normal” plants which had < 10 μg g −1 ƩREEs. Biogeochemical prospecting for REEs using plants is feasible in Queensland to identify areas naturally enriched in REEs.