Rare earth elements (REE) and yttrium (Y) are used in petroleum cracking catalysts, in the electronics industry, and in the manufacture of super conductors, permanent magnets, ceramics, glass, and metal alloys. REE or the lanthanide series, constitute a group of 15 elements beginning with lanthanum (atomic no. 57) and ending with lutetium (atomic no. 71). The element yttrium, although not of the lanthanide series, is often included with this group because of its close association. REE are more abundant than elements such as gold, silver, and uranium, but they rarely form distinct minerals in nature, occurring instead in trace amounts in over 250 minerals. Fifty four of these are designated as lanthanide minerals. There are three major ore minerals for REE and Y: monazite, bastnasite, and xenotime; minor ore minerals include apatite, allanite, brockite, crandalite, euxenite, and loparite.

There are more than 40 reported REE occurrences in northern Saskatchewan, but of these only a handful were actually explored primarily for their REE potential. Many were discovered as a result of uranium exploration, because they are associated with low level radioactivity. The occurrences are subdivided into five types: 1. pegmatite-granite association, 2. metamorphosed detrital occurrences, 3. allanite veins, 4. detrital, heavy mineral sands in the Athabasca Group, and 5. diagenetic-hydrothermal associated with unconformity uranium deposits. Although there has been no commercial REE or Y production to date, the unconformity-related types show the greatest potential for developing large economical deposits.

To search for Saskatchewan occurrences of this commodity, use the Saskatchewan Mineral Deposits Index searchable database, or the Geological Atlas of Saskatchewan.

Open the Mineral Resource Map of Saskatchewan.