Demonstrates effective detection of rare earth elements using airborne hyperspectral imagery in mineral exploration, indicating significant implications for resource management.
Rare earth elements (REEs) play an important role in emerging renewable energy technology, the production of advanced materials, energy conservation, and high-end manufacturing industries, making them an irreplaceable strategic resource. The diagnostic spectral absorption features of REEs in the visible and near-infrared spectrum can be effectively used for identifying the occurrences of REEs on the Earth’s surface. This study systematically compared three airborne hyperspectral sensors—HyMap, CASI-1500h, and AisaFENIX 1K—for detecting REEs in the Bayan Obo area of Inner Mongolia, China. The CASI-1500h imagery performed most effectively in identifying the locations of REEs among the three sensors evaluated here. Additionally, this study proposed a hyperspectral workflow for REE identification, which enabled the detection of REE-bearing minerals regardless of the host rock types—including carbonatites and associated dikes, fenite-syenites, and metamorphic feldspar-quartz sandstone. Laboratory-based spectroscopy and mineral chemistry analyses indicated that the absorption features of the REE-bearing mineral monazite within the 400‒1000 nm range can be ascribed to Nd3+. This study demonstrates the potential of airborne hyperspectral technology for efficient and large-scale exploration of REE deposits.
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Liu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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