rare earth
Scandium's element group
Rare earth refers to a group of seventeen metallic elements—the lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium—essential in modern technology: rare earth magnets, rare earth mining.
Despite the name, most aren't geologically rare but are difficult to extract and separate.
China dominates global rare earth production, making them strategically significant.
F-block metallic element series
- ceriumAtomic number fifty-eight
- neodymiumRare-earth metallic element
- europiumElement sixty-three
- gadoliniumLanthanide, atomic number sixty-four
terbium · dysprosium · holmium · erbium · thulium · ytterbium · lutetium · scandium
East Asian superpower
- miningExtracting earth's resources
- supply chainProduct delivery infrastructure
- export restrictionsLimits on goods leaving
- stockpilingAccumulating supplies in quantity
trade war · recycling · urban mining · deep-sea mining · sanctions
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- wind turbinesMachines converting air movement to electricity
- electric vehiclesBattery-powered motor transport
- smartphonesHandheld touchscreen computers
- hard drivesPermanent computer storage devices
fiber optics · LEDs · phosphors · lasers · catalytic converters · batteries · semiconductors · MRI machines
Deliberately planned for advantage
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- price volatilityRate of cost fluctuation
- shortageDeficient supply of necessities
- stockpileAccumulated reserve supply
hoarding · substitution · recycling · urban mining · circular economy · resource depletion · concentration · bottleneck
Mineable mineral accumulation
- flotationAbility to stay afloat
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
- extractionAct of removing
- refiningRemoving unwanted elements
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- permanent magnetsSelf-sustaining magnetic materials
- remanenceResidual magnetization after demagnetizing
- degaussingNeutralizing residual magnetic fields
- generatorElectricity-producing machine
actuator · magnetic resonance · hard disk drives · speakers · headphones
lanthanides
F-block metallic element series
gadolinium · terbium · dysprosium · holmium · erbium · thulium · ytterbium · lutetium · scandium · yttrium
China
East Asian superpower
- miningExtracting earth's resources
- supply chainProduct delivery infrastructure
- export restrictionsLimits on goods leaving
stockpiling · trade war · recycling · urban mining · deep-sea mining · sanctions
neodymium magnets
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- wind turbinesMachines converting air movement to electricity
- electric vehiclesBattery-powered motor transport
- smartphonesHandheld touchscreen computers
hard drives · fiber optics · LEDs · phosphors · lasers · catalytic converters · batteries · semiconductors · MRI machines · guidance systems
strategic
Deliberately planned for advantage
- criticalExpressing disapproval or importance
- price volatilityRate of cost fluctuation
- shortageDeficient supply of necessities
stockpile · hoarding · substitution · recycling · urban mining · circular economy · resource depletion · concentration · bottleneck · allocation
ore deposit
Mineable mineral accumulation
- flotationAbility to stay afloat
- leachingDissolving out by liquid
- extractionAct of removing
neodymium magnets
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- permanent magnetsSelf-sustaining magnetic materials
- remanenceResidual magnetization after demagnetizing
- degaussingNeutralizing residual magnetic fields
generator · actuator · magnetic resonance · hard disk drives · speakers · headphones
- mininggold, mines, gold mines, mine, coal
- rarityrare, scarce, uncommon, infrequent, scant
- chemistryatom, atoms, organic chemistry, molecule, chemistry
- magnetismmagnet, magnetic field, magnetic fields, magnetic poles, ferromagnetism
- element typesmetal, nonmetal, metalloid, noble gas, halogen
- mineralsquartz, marble, granite, limestone, sandstone