Why are rare earths important and what are they?

The U.S. president Donald Trump and his Chinese equivalent Xi Jinping concluded a summit on South Korea

With a Deal

Keep Chinese rare earths exports flowing.

Here are some facts about these elements that have been making news around the globe:

What are they?

Rare earths is a grouping of 17 elements, including 15 metals that are silvery white, called lanthanides or lanthanoids. They also include scandium and yttrium.

What are they used for?

Rare earths, or the magnets that they can sometimes be made into, are found in small quantities but in important quantities in everything from iPhones to washing machines and the F35 fighter plane.

These batteries are also used for electric vehicles (EVs), medical devices, oil refinement, and other military systems such as radar and missiles.

Supply chains would quickly come to a standstill without them. Automakers had to stop some production in the beginning of this year due to shortages caused by Chinese export controls.

ARE THEY RARE?

Some are even more common than the lead. They are usually found in small amounts and are mixed with other minerals or spread thinly around the Earth crust. This makes it difficult and expensive to find larger deposits.

What country is the largest producer?

China has dominated the rare earths industry since the 1980s thanks to its lower costs, more relaxed environmental standards, and years of government support.

China is responsible for 60% of the global production of mines and 90% of the refined products and rare earth magnets.

There are projects underway in the U.S.A., Europe and Australia that aim to create an alternative supply chain, but it will be years before we see any meaningful production.

China has been busy in the meantime

Export restrictions

The number of elements, and the equipment required to mine and refine these elements is increasing.

What are their names?

They are in the following order: scandium (first), yttrium (second), lanthanum (third), cerium (fourth), praseodymium neodymium samarium europium gadolinium terbium dysprosium holmium erbium thulium ytterbium lutetium.

What impact do they have on the environment?

Solvents are often used to process rare earths. These solvents can pollute the air, the water and the soil. Although more environmentally friendly technologies are in development, they have not yet been widely adopted.

Some rare earth ores contain radioactive uranium or thorium, which are often removed with acid.

The development of this sector is hampered by health and environmental regulations. Reporting by Jason Neely, Eric Onstad and Lewis Jackson from London and Beijing

(source: Reuters)