text: Yttrium is found in most rare-earth minerals, it is found in some uranium ores, but is never found in the Earths crust as a free element. About 31 ppm of the Earths crust is yttrium, making it the 43rd most abundant element. Yttrium is found in soil in concentrations between 10 and 150 ppm (dry weight average of 23 ppm) and in sea water at 9 ppt. Lunar rock samples collected during the American Apollo Project have a relatively high content of yttrium.
  Yttrium has no known biological role, though it is found in most, if not all, organisms and tends to concentrate in the liver, kidney, spleen, lungs, and bones of humans. Normally, as little as  is found in the entire human body; human breast milk contains 4 ppm. Yttrium can be found in edible plants in concentrations between 20 ppm and 100 ppm (fresh weight), with cabbage having the largest amount. With as much as 700 ppm, the seeds of woody plants have the highest known concentrations.
   there are reports of the discovery of very large reserves of rare-earth elements in the deep seabed several hundred kilometers from the tiny Japanese island of Minami-Torishima Island, also known as Marcus Island. This location is described as having "tremendous potential" for rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY), according to a study published in Scientific Reports. "This REY-rich mud has great potential as a rare-earth metal resource because of the enormous amount available and its advantageous mineralogical features," the study reads. The study shows that more than  of rare-earth elements could be "exploited in the near future." As well as yttrium (Y), which is used in products like camera lenses and mobile phone screens, the rare-earth elements found are europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy).