rare earth elements
Seventeen strategic minerals
Rare earth elements are a group of seventeen metallic elements—fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium—that share similar chemical properties.
Despite the name, most aren't particularly rare in Earth's crust, just difficult to extract and separate from one another.
They're essential for modern technology: magnets, batteries, smartphones, wind turbines, and military equipment.
China dominates rare earth production.
F-block metallic element series
- scandiumElement twenty-one
- yttriumElement number thirty-nine
- ceriumAtomic number fifty-eight
- lanthanumAtomic number fifty-seven
europium · gadolinium · terbium · dysprosium · erbium · holmium · thulium · ytterbium
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- electric vehiclesBattery-powered motor transport
- wind turbinesMachines converting air movement to electricity
- smartphonesHandheld touchscreen computers
- LEDsSemiconductor light sources
displays · lasers · fiber optics · catalytic converters · MRI machines · rechargeable batteries · hard drives · headphones
Act of removing
- open-pitExcavated from exposed ground
- tailingsPost-extraction mineral waste
- refineryIndustrial purification facility
- separationState of being apart
Product delivery infrastructure
- strategic reservesAssets saved for emergencies
- trade restrictionsBarriers limiting international exchange
- stockpilingAccumulating supplies in quantity
- diversificationExpanding into varied areas
recycling initiatives · industrial policy · economic leverage · reshoring
Reduction of supply
- price volatilityRate of cost fluctuation
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- urban miningHarvesting materials from discarded products
- hoardingExcessive accumulation of goods
lanthanides
F-block metallic element series
lanthanum · europium · gadolinium · terbium · dysprosium · erbium · holmium · thulium · ytterbium · lutetium
neodymium magnets
Strong rare-earth permanent attractors
- electric vehiclesBattery-powered motor transport
- wind turbinesMachines converting air movement to electricity
- smartphonesHandheld touchscreen computers
LEDs · displays · lasers · fiber optics · catalytic converters · MRI machines · rechargeable batteries · hard drives · headphones · microphones
extraction
Act of removing
supply chain
Product delivery infrastructure
- strategic reservesAssets saved for emergencies
- trade restrictionsBarriers limiting international exchange
- stockpilingAccumulating supplies in quantity
diversification · recycling initiatives · industrial policy · economic leverage · reshoring
depletion
Reduction of supply
- price volatilityRate of cost fluctuation
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- urban miningHarvesting materials from discarded products
- ocean resourcesfish stocks, seafood, fisheries, shellfish, kelp
- geochemistryisotope geochemistry, biogeochemistry, trace elements, isotopes, chemical weathering
- element groupsalkali metals, halogens, noble gases, transition metals, lanthanides
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- natural resourcescrude oil, lumber, water, gas, air
- e-wastee-waste, computers, laptops, smartphones, phones
rare earth elementsiron
Element twenty-six
copper · aluminum · silicon · base metals · oxygen
rare earth elementsnoble gases
Nonreactive elemental group
halogens · alkali metals · transition metals · nonmetals · actinides