Allanite is a sorosilicate group of minerals within the broader epidote group that contain a significant amount of rare earth elements. The mineral occurs mainly in metamorphosed clay rich sediments and felsic igneous rocks. It has the general formula A₂M₃Si₃O₁₂(OH) where the A sites can contain large cations such as Ca²⁺, Sr²⁺, and rare earth elements and the M sites admit Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn³⁺, Fe²⁺, or Mg²⁺ among others. However, a large amount of additional elements, including Th, U, Zr, P, Ba, Cr and others may be present in the mineral. The International Mineralogical Association lists three minerals in the allanite group, each recognized as a unique mineral: allanite-(Ce), allanite-(La) and allanite-(Y), depending on the dominant rare earth present, cerium, lanthanum or yttrium.