Rare earth elements (Scandium [Sc], yttrium [Y], cerium through lutetium), often underestimated, play an indispensable role in many modern technologies and products. From high-tech manufacturing and chemical catalysts to fiber optic cables and cell phones as well as rechargeable battery packs for electric cars and silicon chips - rare earth elements play an integral part in many areas.
Rare Earth Elements (REE), defined as 15 Lanthanides plus Scandium and Yttrium, are not in themselves rare in terms of availability, yet are nonetheless difficult to mine and refine due to being found within minerals; furthermore they tend to be relatively expensive due to their unique physical and optical properties.
REEs are integral components of high-tech and green manufacturing, being integral components in permanent magnets, rechargeable batteries and automobile catalytic converters - as well as military applications including missile and aircraft magnetostrictive alloys as well as clean energy technology like wind turbines and hybrid electric vehicles.
REEs are found across the world, but their production and demand is heavily tied to China. China currently supplies 97% of global REE demand and all heavy REEs used for wind turbines - such as terbium, dysprosium, and yttrium - through China's economic development accelerating faster than any other REE producers could keep pace.
REEs are difficult and expensive to produce due to their complex makeup, making production cost prohibitive and creating toxic waste during mining methods. New technologies exist which will significantly lower REE production costs while simultaneously decreasing environmental impact.
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Rare earth elements are critical components for many green technologies such as wind turbines and hybrid electric vehicles, which require large batteries containing rare earth compounds. Furthermore, they contribute significantly to miniaturizing electronic devices as well as creating telecom, medical, and transportation networks.
Neodymium iron boron magnets, for instance, make it possible to shrink loudspeakers and hard drives as well as create more compact optical displays. Praseodymium and terbium metals are used as catalysts in petroleum refining catalysts as well as batteries using nickel metal hydride batteries as well as glass and ceramic applications while Lanthanum plays an essential part of carbon lighting applications as well as high tech products like video cameras and telescope lenses.
Rare earths' unique magnetic and phosphorescent properties enable the production of smaller and lighter electronics, providing green technologies with stronger batteries as well as national defense and transportation systems with more vital resources. But their demand may soon skyrocket if more consumers opt for hybrid and electric vehicles with batteries that utilize rare earth materials in higher amounts than previously anticipated.
China currently controls most of the rare earth supply and its policies have a major effect on global economy. For example, in 2010 China significantly restricted exports in order to maintain sufficient domestic supplies for industrial use and environmental protection purposes - this caused prices of rare earths to skyrocket, prompting United States and Japan to file complaints with World Trade Organization which ultimately resulted in loosening export quotas in 2012.
To address climate change, we must reduce fossil fuel usage and invest in renewable energy sources. To do so, this requires massive numbers of wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles (EVs) and storage batteries containing rare earth elements and critical metals found naturally at lower concentrations that mining could harm our planet's ecosystems.
Dependent upon the type of mine, extraction methods range from excavating topsoil and digging, to chemical leaching pools. Each step in this complex mining process uses heavy machinery and often releases toxic chemicals that pollute waterways and soil. Waste from mining called tailings may contain salts, metals and radioactive elements and should be stored in ponds that will eventually leak and pollute groundwater - for every ton of rare earth minerals produced 2,000 tons of tailings with its disposal ponds leaking polluted groundwater systems! One ton of rare earth minerals produces 30 pounds of dust as well as 1,200 cubic meters of wastewater treatment facilities management costs and storage ponds leakage into groundwater systems - for every ton produced one ton produces 30 pounds of dust along with 1,200 cubic meters of wastewater treatment facilities to handle and storage facilities that leak to pollute groundwater leakage onto land and into waterways for years afterwards storing in ponds before being dumped on land before disposal occurs! For one ton produced from extraction processes comes 2,000 tons tailings waste per ton produced = 30 pounds dust + 1200 cubic meters wastewater + 1200 cubic meters = 2120 cubic meters wastewater = 21200 cubic meters + 2000 tons tailings waste stored for storage... One Ton = 30 pounds dust + 1,200 cubic meters wastewater + 2 tonnes tailings! One Ton produced produces 30 pounds dust plus 1200 cubic meters+ 2 tonnes worth 2,000 tailings from storage (leak + leakage + leakage pollution. One Ton rare earth minerals yields = One Ton produced = 30 pounds + 1,200 cubic meters wastewater produced which leakage + 1 tons +1 1 200 cubic meters +1 2 1001 = 2,00 tons from storage + 2000 = 22 tons tailings =2,000 Tons total =2, plus one tones equalings) equalings = 2,00 tons +2,000=2,000 = total = 2000 tons + 2000 Ton tailings) tailings = 2, Tons = 2000 tons+ tailings= 2, Tonnes+1200 Cubi = 2,800 tonnes = =2, + 20 tons +2,000 Tonnes== one Ton equals), 1 ton = 1. 1 Ton=2. = 1000+2,000 == 200 cubic 2,000 Tonnes + 2000 tons tailings! = 1. = one tones= 30+ 1 tons + 2,= 2, 000TON! 1 tons. 1 Ton=2, which +2,000 = 30 pounds dust= 2, = total = ==2000=2, =2 =1=2,000 Tonnes. = 2, = 20 =2,000 Ton of tail = 2000 tones per Tonnes. =2= 2000 tons= 2000 tons= 2000+Tonne plus =2 =2. One Tonn+ Ton of tail =2000= = totallings equal =2000 tons total! =2. + 2000 tons tail = 20 1 Ton of Rare E=2, which =200 Cub meters=2,000 + 2000 Tonne totallings plus 1,200 cu meters ore 2 Ton. +2,000 tons! = total equal 1 =1=200 cubic Meter! =2!). One Ton produced equal 4 = 2000 +20 = 2, 000 Ton of tail =1 (for every tones. = 22 tons equal equal 2 Tonn
Mining of many energy transition metals is highly concentrated geographically, with only a handful of countries accounting for more than half their production. China alone controls around 70% of global lithium production as well as cobalt and rare earth elements production while just six companies hold three-quarters of world graphite supplies.
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But there are ways to reduce the environmental impacts of rare earth minerals. One is substituting them with more abundant materials or devising more eco-friendly production processes; another way is fostering circular economy models where products are reused and recycled as much as possible, eliminating unnecessary mining operations while decreasing pollution levels; governments should support research into sustainable mining techniques as well as promote recycling of electronic waste.
Recently, the United States had long been considered a key supplier of rare earth metals; however, China now dominates this sector and now mines and processes most rare earth minerals worldwide. President Trump is using potential shortages as leverage in trade negotiations with China; however, experts believe that global markets would remain stable regardless.
The Department of Energy's national laboratories are undertaking projects that could expand America's ability to secure rare earth minerals or develop environmentally-friendly ways of extracting them from ores or recycled e-waste. Scientists at Ames Laboratory in Iowa are investigating ways of extracting rare earth oxides without acid; while researchers from Cornell University are exploring biomining using programmed microbes that produce organic acids to leach rare earth elements from ore deposits or recycled electronics waste.