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Geothermal Cesium Resources in the Tibetan Plateau: Geological Controls, Resource Potential, and Implications for Low-Carbon Energy Transition

  • Fei Xue

Received: 30 Nov 2025 | Revised: 26 Dec 2025 | Accepted: 04 Jan 2026 | Published: 13 Jan 2026

Highlights

  • Global cesium supply remains narrow, relying on few pegmatite suites and facing rising strategic demand.
  • High-temperature geothermal systems in the Tibetan Plateau host unusually cesium-rich waters and siliceous deposits.
  • Multiple lines of evidence support a deep crustal origin, with rare-metal melts feeding upward-moving cesiumbearing fluids.
  • Tibetan active springs and shallow siliceous deposits together form substantial cesium resources.
  • Shallow geothermal cesium is best developed through distributed co-production with heat and power generation.

Abstract

Cesium (Cs) is a strategic metal used in high-precision timing and advanced electronics technologies, but current supply comes mainly from a few pegmatites as associated minerals. This concentration, together with rising demand, creates clear risks for global supply chains. In this context, this study reviews the geological setting, enrichment processes and resource potential of unique geothermal-type Cs resources on the Tibetan Plateau, and its relevance for critical metal security and the energy transition. Hydrochemical, isotopic, petrological and geophysical data show that southern Tibet hosts a distinct geothermal Cs province, where high-temperature systems along Yarlung Zangbo Suture and N–S trending rifts are consistently enriched in Cs in both fluids and siliceous deposits, well above levels in most other geothermal fields worldwide. The evidence supports a crustal evolved magmatic–hydrothermal fluid source model: Himalayan crust undergoes partial melting and magmatic differentiation, releases Cs-rich fluids that rise along fault zones, and the mixed geothermal waters are then trapped in opal-rich siliceous sinters, ancient siliceous rocks and sediment-hosted units. Tibetan geothermal systems therefore contain a dual Cs resource, with both a dissolved flux and a shallow solid inventory in siliceous sinters and sedimentary rocks. Geothermal Cs on the Tibetan Plateau represents a separate geothermal-type deposit, marked by high enrichment, shallow occurrence and close coupling to geothermal heat. Its dispersed, small- to medium-scale nature makes it best suited to co-production with geothermal development. It can enhance the diversity and resilience of Cs supply, while supporting integrated strategies for low-carbon energy deployment and critical metal security.

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DOI
10.63335/j.hp.2026.0030
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Volume 2, Issue 1
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Xue, F. (2026). Geothermal Cesium Resources in the Tibetan Plateau: Geological Controls, Resource Potential, and Implications for Low-Carbon Energy Transition. Habitable Planet, 2(1), 128–148. https://doi.org/10.63335/j.hp.2026.0030
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