The rare earths are 17 metallic elements, situated in the middle of the periodic table (atomic numbers 39, 21, and 57–71). Such metals have uncommon conductive, magnetic, and fluorescent properties—which make them quite valuable when debased, or mixed, in small amounts with more available metals like iron.

Geologically talking, the rare earth elements are not particularly rare. Deposits of such metals are found in several places throughout the world, with some elements in about the same richness in the earth’s crust as copper or tin. But rare earth are not ever found in very high quantities and are generally found mixed together with one another or with radioactive elements, like thorium and uranium.

The chemical properties of the rare earth rudiments make them complex to detach from surrounding materials and from one another. Such abilities also make them tough to purify.

Current production approaches need a lot of ore and generate a great deal of injurious waste to abstract just small amounts of rare earth metals. Waste from processing approaches such as toxic fluorine, radioactive water, and acids.

The global rare earth metals market is experiencing growth and is projected to reach USD 15,473.3 million by 2030.

Rare Earth in the Atomic Age

The rare earth elements took on a new scientific and then geopolitical rank with improvement in atomic physics during the 20th century.

The complexity of extricating the rare earth elements from ore and from one another made it unclear just how many rare earth elements there may be. In 1913, the British physicist Henry Moseley said that there were 15 elements in the lanthanide series (atomic numbers 57 through 71) using X-ray spectrometry.

Why Rare Earths Metals Are Important?

Rare-earth elements are essential components of more than 250 products across an extensive variety of applications, specifically high-tech consumer items, like computer hard drives, cellular telephones, hybrid and electric vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and TVs.

Substantial defense applications such as guidance systems, electronic displays, sonar, and radar systems. Though the amount of REE utilized in a product might not be an important part of that product by volume, weight, or value the REE can be essential for the device to work.

For instance, magnets complete of REE commonly signify only a small fraction of the total weight, but without them, the rod motors and voice coils of desktops and laptops would not be thinkable.

In 1993, 39% of the world making of REEs was in China, 32% was in the U.S., 13% was in Australia, and 6% each was in India and Malaysia. Numerous other nations, like Thailand, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Canada, and South Africa, made up the remainder. Though, in 2008, China held more than 80% of the world production of REEs, and by 2011, China held around 97% of the world production.