Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for modern high-tech development and have been identified as key mineral resources by major economies worldwide. This paper presents a systematic review of REE deposits in Africa, covering their distribution, reserves and resources, deposit types, mineralization ages, characteristics of typical deposits, and exploration investments. Africa hosts abundant REE resources, which are primarily concentrated in 12 countries. The continent’s reserves and advanced resources of rare earth oxides (REO) amount to 195.6 × 104 t and 1014.4 × 104 t, respectively. In recent years, exploration and development efforts have progressed rapidly. REE mineralization in Africa can be classified into eight categories, with carbonatite and ion-adsorption-type deposits currently being the primary focus of exploration and development. Exploration investment in African REE deposits peaked in 2012, followed by a decline to its lowest point in 2017. Since 2018, the exploration investment value has increased rapidly. Looking ahead, prices for light rare earth elements (LREEs) are projected to stabilize or experience a slight decrease, while prices for heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) are expected to gradually increase.
Ren et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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