Mineral Systems, Evolutionary Patterns, and Spatial Mineral Prospecting Methods for Rare Metal Mineralization

Rare metals are an important component of strategic critical metals, and their mineralization is closely related to the granite–pegmatite system. As the direct products of mineralization, the crystallization behaviors and evolutionary patterns of rare-metal minerals provide an essential basis for understanding metallogenic mechanisms, assessing resource potential, and predicting ore-forming districts. This paper identifies (hydro)oxides, silicates, and phosphates as the main types of rare-metal ore minerals and systematically analyzes their mineralogical characteristics. On a global scale, it investigates the evolutionary features of these minerals during key geological periods, revealing the coupling relationship between rare-metal mineralization and supercontinent assembly–breakup cycles. Based on differences in elemental electronegativity, the relationship between the chemical behavior of rare elements and their mineralization capacity is established, elucidating the fundamental pathways of rare-metal enrichment and mineralization. At the scale of ore bodies, it systematically analyzes the crystallization sequence of lithium minerals and constructs a generalized evolutionary framework for lithium mineralization in rare-metal pegmatites. Furthermore, from the perspective of compositional evolution in Nb–Ta and Zr–Hf minerals, a multi-dimensional tracing system for rare-metal mineralization is developed. This paper aims to construct a comprehensive mineral system for rare-metal mineralization, deepen the understanding of its evolutionary regularities, and promote the establishment of a spatial prospecting methodology based on mineralogical responses, thereby providing theoretical support for rare-metal resource exploration.