Rare earths are an indispensable component of advanced manufacturing and green energy production. Additionally, their use helps mitigate greenhouse gases emissions enough to avert catastrophic climate collapse.
Acquisition and production can be challenging: Rich deposits are hard to come by and often contain environmentally hazardous traces of uranium; China controls most of the global supply, and prices remain volatile.
Most people aren't aware of just how ubiquitous rare earth metals are in modern technology - from lighting fixtures and car engine starter magnets, stereo system speakers and fuel sensors used to regulate oxygen levels to lighter flints containing rare earth elements.
Rare earths are an unusual group of 17 metallic elements with fluorescent, conductive and magnetic properties. Found naturally only as part of complex oxides in small amounts, they're sometimes classified as rare earths in textbooks due to their similar chemical structures; many introductory science textbooks treat them collectively; cerium, praseodymium and terbium are common examples; however they're trivalent; Samarium-Europium are tetravalent; while Ytterbium divalent.
In the 1990s and 2000s, new consumer products using rare earth metals emerged, starting with Bell Labs' fiber-optic telephone network's use of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier containing this element to allow lower long-distance phone costs and Internet rates. Rare earth elements have since also made LED screens more energy efficient and reduced distortion in camera lenses while smartphone speakers use neodymium magnets to improve sound while using less power thanks to yttrium and erbium phosphors on screens.
Rare earths have many applications beyond lasers and X-ray tubes, including laser printers, computer bubble memories, neutron capture devices, nuclear reactor fuel pellets and substrates for magneto-optical films. Furthermore, rare earths can also be found in jet plane alloys and rechargeable batteries.
Rare earth production primarily takes place in China; however, significant quantities are also mined and refined from other countries including Australia, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan Malaysia and Russia - as well as in some cases in the US.
China was in 2010 positioned to use its control of rare earths for geopolitical leverage. After Japan's coast guard detained a Chinese fisherman fishing in disputed waters and caused diplomatic friction, Beijing used this issue as an excuse to delay shipping rare earth minerals intended for Japanese high-tech manufacturers.
Rare Earth Elements (REE) are key components of modern green technologies. From low carbon emissions, digital communications, and renewable energy solutions to magnets, catalysts and electric motor components - not forgetting high performance glass products and specialty materials! Rare Earth elements make green energy technologies possible!
These minerals can be found worldwide, in workable deposits. Although initially discovered during the 18th century, rare earths are far from rare today - in fact they are quite abundant on Earth's crust and occur at similar concentrations to copper or tin. Their discovery was enabled through X-ray crystallography which enabled scientists to pinpoint individual atom structures and chemical properties for scientific investigation.
During the Cold War, government-funded research created an unprecedented surge in demand for rare earth elements. Defense contractors quickly produced alloys containing neodymium and samarium magnets at low costs in huge numbers; additionally lanthanide metals like cerium through lutetium were essential in creating high performance magnets used for missile guidance systems and other military uses.
REEs have become indispensable components of modern electronics, from TVs and tablets computers to hybrid cars and rechargeable batteries. Furthermore, REEs play an integral role in renewable energy sources like wind turbines and solar panels.
United States production of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) once led global trade before 1978 and with Deng Xiaoping's vision to transform China into a manufacturing power. But China took this spot from them. Their rise as producers coincided with their reentry into global trade following 1978 as well as Deng's efforts at making China into a manufacturing giant.
Future success of the rare earth industry rests with whether manufacturers can transition towards more environmentally and socially friendly production methods. To do this will require both consumers and manufacturers to pay more for materials produced ethically as well as mechanisms within and without governments that ensure these standards are upheld. It will certainly present unique challenges, but they should all be taken seriously.
Rare earth elements make an enormous impactful contribution to modern economy, yet are often invisible or out of our reach. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything modern technology doesn't incorporate them - cell phones, televisions, computers, electric cars, jet aircraft and wind turbines all use rare earth elements; additionally they're found in products like electric motors using them as magnets; energy-efficient LCD screens use them; Lanthanum reduces distortion in tiny glass camera lenses while dysprosium forms part of permanent magnets neodymium-dysprosium magnets used within permanent magnets - as you see just about everything uses rare earth elements these elements make an enormous impactful presence on modern society!
Rare earths earned their moniker as "rare" during the 19th century; however, they're actually far from rare. Fifteen of the 17 lanthanide elements plus scandium and yttrium can be found naturally across Earth; only their extraction poses difficulty. They're commonly known by this name today.
Once companies and governments realized the economic importance of rare earths, companies and governments sought innovative ways to address their supply problem. Some proposed opening up Amazon rainforest to mining while others wanted to mine lunar resources. Ultimately, domestic production of rare earths proved the only practical solution - hence why Molycorp reopened their Mountain Pass Mine in California.
Rare earth production can be both complex and costly. Ore must first be extracted by blasting away at it from underground before being crushed, transported up, separated from host rock minerals, separated using mills, refined into pure metals or chemically useful compounds before finally becoming refined into final form.
Rare earths have an enormous variety of uses today, with permanent magnet manufacturing accounting for an estimated 43% of demand for rare earths. Permanent magnets play an indispensable role in high-tech electronics and green technologies as well as transportation, clean energy and military applications.
The United States holds an enormous share of rare-earth mineral resources worldwide and is the world's top producer. Missouri boasts America's largest rare-earth deposit; however, mining these ores is complex and requires extensive processing before recovery of elements can take place. Up until recently American production was limited by government imposed rules mandating majority American ownership for any company producing rare-earth compounds; though those rules have since been relaxed substantially; most firms involved remain foreign owned.
Rare earth elements might not be at the forefront of Wall Street conversation right now, but their importance cannot be understated. Rare earths are essential in producing existing and emerging technologies and there simply aren't enough available. Furthermore, mining rare earths is expensive with environmental implications attached, which has resulted in their prices rising dramatically over time.
As demand for hybrid vehicles and green energy technology increases, so will demand for rare earths. That is why companies that produce or process these minerals make excellent investments; but investors should note that investing in mining stocks may be unpredictable.
Investment opportunities exist within rare earth metals for both investors and active traders alike. From mining company shares and ETFs for these minerals to options trading futures contracts and direct physical purchases, investing in rare earths offers ample investment and trading potential.
Rare earths are an array of 17 elements, which include scandium (Sc), yttrium (Y), and the lanthanides cerium (Ce) through lutetium (Lu). Rare earths feature luminescent and magnetic properties which make them useful in electronic products like cell phones, automobile catalytic converters, rechargeable batteries and rechargeable power sources. They are often found together due to originating in similar mineral deposits with similar properties and being typically trivalent, although cerium, praseodymium and Terbium may even be multivalent while europium and ytterbium may even be divalent.
Rare earths are abundant within Earth's crust, yet difficult to mine due to their dispersed distribution. There are ways, however, to reduce mining needs and conserve rare earth resources - recycling electronic waste for rare earth elements could help meet some of the increasing global demand for them. Researchers are developing better ligands capable of extracting rare earths out of waste material sources.