What exactly are rare earth minerals?

Rare earth minerals are a set of 17 metallic elements (15 lanthanides, plus scandium and yttrium) crucial for high-tech devices, renewable energy, and defense applications due to their unique magnetic, luminescent, and catalytic properties.

Why are they called 'rare earth' if they are not always rare?

They are termed 'rare earth' not because they are scarce in the Earth's crust, but because they are rarely found in economically viable, highly concentrated deposits, making their extraction and refinement challenging and costly.

What are common uses for rare earth minerals?

Rare earth minerals are essential for manufacturing components in smartphones, electric vehicles, wind turbines, MRI machines, flat-panel displays, catalysts, and advanced military technologies, among many other applications.

Which countries dominate rare earth production?

China currently dominates the global production and processing of rare earth minerals, holding a significant majority of the world's supply. Other notable producers include the United States, Australia, and Myanmar.