Shearing of the Melozitna Granite

Geologist and cataclastic shear zones in the Melozitna granite in the Ruby batholith. This granite contains abundant monazite and high levels of thorium and rare earth elements. The shear zones accelerate erosion of the granite into streams, where the monazite that contains the rare earth elements can be concentrated. This area is part of the Bureau of Land Management's Central Yukon Planning Area, which USGS did a mineral assessment of in 2015.