Community composition of samples at different depths of ion-adsorbed rare earth deposits

Ion adsorption-type rare earth element (REE) deposit is the predominant source of heavy REEs (HREEs) in the world. There is increasing awareness that microorganisms play an important in the formation of ion adsorption-type REE deposits. However, direct evidence for this notion is still lacking. Here we characterized the microbial community composition along a complete weathering profile drilled from Renju, a typical adsorption-type REE deposit located in South China.

离子吸附型稀土元素（rare earth element, REE）矿床是全球重稀土元素（heavy REEs, HREEs）的主要来源。学界日益认识到微生物在离子吸附型稀土矿床的形成过程中发挥着重要作用。然而，该观点至今仍缺乏直接证据支撑。本研究对采自中国南部典型离子吸附型稀土矿床稔居（Renju）的完整风化钻孔剖面，开展了微生物群落组成特征分析。