All rocks around us contain significant amounts of rare earth elements, but they become concentrated in these exotic magmas through slow crystallisation in Earth’s crust. This is usually not enough to make an ore deposit, which consists of millions of tonnes of rock made up of between 5 and 50% by weight of rare earth elements. A second step of concentration is required. In giant deposits such as Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, hot fluids loaded with carbonate appear to have undergone this extra concentration step. But exactly how has been a mystery.

General Fu Yu-te commanded an army of 100,000 which assembled in Hu-kuang Province (Hu-pei and Hu-nan area). Aside from a part of his army which he dispatched post-haste to Wu-san (present-day Wei-ning in western Kuei-chou)(See Photos 7 and 8), he personally led the main body. He entered Kuei-chou from Hu-nan along the Yuan River route.

I was still wearing Florsheim cordovan wingtip shoes, medium gray flannel slacks, with a broadcoth crème shirt that displayed pale green stripes setting off my dark green silk tie imprinted with light brown heads of horses.

In such a cistern the present and other hardy aquatics may be grown with success.