Anomalous concentrations of rare earth elements in acid mine drainage and implications for rare earth resources from late Permian coal seams in northern Guizhou.

Rare earth elements (REEs) have attracted much attention in recent decades due to their growing applications in high-tech industries. Coal and acid mine drainage (AMD) are considered promising alternative sources due to their high concentrations of REEs. Here, AMD with anomalous REEs concentrations was reported in a coal-mine area in northern Guizhou, China.