Rare earths: What are and Where can we find them?

The rare earths are fundamental for the present and future economy, even if they are still little known and used. Around the rare earths there are geopolitical tensions for hoarding. But what are rare earths?

Although the name may be misleading, rare earths (REE, acronym for Rare Earth Metals) are a group of 17 elements belonging to the metal family. These are in turn divided according to atomic weight into: light rare earths (LREE), medium rare earths (MREE) and heavy rare earths (HREE).

Sought after by Usa and the European Union and hitherto controlled by China, thanks to an unparalleled geological, productive and scientific know-how advantage, rare earths will be the fuel of the tech-green revolution of our future.

Let’s see what they are, where they are, what they are for and why they play a leading role in the energy transition.

What are rare earths?

Some have called them “the 21st century gold”, while in the extractive and mining sector someone calls them “vitamins or spices”.

As evidence of their strategic importance, it is said that Deng Xiaoping himself, architect of the Chinese economy, had referred to these elements with the expression: “The Middle East has oil, we have rare metals.”

So what is meant when we talk about rare earths? In detail, this is the collective name used to indicate 17 chemical elements present in the famous periodic table.

For chemistry lovers: of these 17 elements, 15 are lanthanoids (elements that have an atomic number between 57 and 71), while the remaining two are Scandium and Yttrium (respectively atomic number 21 and 39).

There are also two different classifications for rare earths: light ones (LREE) and heavy forms (HREE), based on the specific configurations of electrons within each atom.

The light rare earths (LREE) are:

• La – Lanthanum
• Ce – Cerium
• Pr – Praseodymium
• Nd – Neodymium
• Sm – Samarium

The heavy rare earths (HREE) are:

• Eu – Europium
• Gd – Gadolinium
• Tb – Terbium
• Dy – Dysprosium
• I – Holmium
• Er – Erbium
• Tm – Thulium
• Yb – Ytterbium
• Lu – Lutetium
• Y – Yttrium

Why are they called rare earths?

We must not be deceived by the adjective rare: these elements are by no means scarce in the world and this qualification does not in fact derive from the quantity on the planet.

The diffusion of some of the 17 elements is equal to that of copper or lead. The rarity, therefore, is linked to another concept, precisely to their low concentration in mineral deposits.

How are rare earths mined?

In their natural state, rare earths are found mixed with other minerals, usually in small quantities. Consequently, extracting them is very difficult and requires a rather complex process.

Starting from extraction or separation from an amalgam of rock and minerals, metals are then formed, combined into alloys and magnets. All with a process of working, refining and purifying metals that consumes a lot of heat, requires acid, and several thousand cycles.

For example, to obtain a kilogram of Vanadium it is necessary to purify eight and a half tons of rock, which becomes 50 tons for a kilo of gallium and even 200 tons for a kilo of Lutetium.

All of this means releasing radioactive water, exhaust fumes and other toxic waste.

What are rare earths for?

A careful and in-depth look at rare earths makes us understand their high value and why they are so useful to meet the needs of our daily life.

These elements play a primary role in hardening, lightening and adding strength, lightness, magnetic and conductive properties to alloys.

With some rare earths, electric car motors perform more efficiently. Furthermore, they are necessary for the operations of wind turbines, smartphones, medical instruments and even some types of missiles.

Europium, for example, is present in low-consumption LED bulbs and Erbium is essential for laser applications and in optical fibers.

The main peculiarity of rare earths lies in the magnetism resistant to high temperatures: for this reason they are indispensable in the production of technological products, but not only that.

One of the fields in which the use of these raw materials is most requested is the military sector, where the 17 earth elements are indispensable for the production of the so-called "directed energy weapons": a class of weapons which includes numerous devices capable of directing various forms of non-kinetic energy onto the targets. Basically, these devices send electromagnetic radiation, acoustic waves, high-energy plasma or laser beams to the target to hit.

Also, rare earths have historically been essential to the petrochemical industry in breaking down large molecules into smaller hydrocarbons suitable for use in fuels.

Where are rare earths found?

According to the United States Geological Survey, the richest country of these resources in the world is China. TheDdragon, which owns about a third of the world’s reserves or 40%, remains the global leader in possession of rare earths.

Beijing is followed by Vietnam, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, Greenland and the United States. However, China also boasts control of production, thanks not only to the presence of the elements in its territory.

The Chinese leadership has also built on the less severe laws in terms of respect for the environment on the capillary know-how.

According to the Geological Society of London, in terms of percentage in theEearth’s continental crust, Cerium is the most abundant, with 43 parts per million (ppm), followed by Lanthanium (20 ppm) and Neodymium (20 ppm), while the rarest rare earth element is Thulium (0.28 ppm), with the exception of Promethium, which is practically absent due to its radioactivity. Their abundance, therefore, is comparable to other important elements such as Lithium (17 ppm), Copper (27 ppm), Tin (1.7 ppm) and Uranium (1.3 ppm).

Who produces rare earths?

Over the years, China has guaranteed itself a substantial monopoly in the world supply of rare earths above all for its production and refining capacity.

Bayan Obo, a region in northern China, is the world’s largest rare earth deposit. Consisting of three main ore bodies stretching 18km in length, Bayan Obo accounts for 50% of China’s rare earth production. Other smaller deposits are found in Shandong, Sichuan, Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces.

Beijing controls 60% of world production of these elements and four fifths of global refining. Even if the minerals are extracted in the United States, therefore, to be used they require specific processing that only the dragon is able to offer.

In the Usa there is the historic Californian Mountain Pass mine, which returned to operation in 2018 after various vicissitudes and stoppages. In 2020, it produced about 16% of the world’s supply of rare earths.

What about Europe? “In refining, two-thirds depend on China”, according to Luca Franza, head of the climate and energy program at the IAI.

Specifically, our continent produces just 3% of the world’s total of rare earths.

The energy transition and rare earths

“The transition to a clean energy system is bound to lead to a huge increase in the need for…minerals, which means that the energy sector is emerging as a major force in the mineral markets”: thus explains the International Agency of ’Power.

Among these increasingly necessary resources for the green revolution there are also rare earths. For this reason they have become the contender in the never-ending trade war between the US and China.

In a scenario that meets the goals of the Paris Agreement, total demand for rare earth elements is projected to grow by 40% in just 20 years.

Not only that, the World Bank estimates speak of a leap of 500% by 2050 in the production of minerals and metals. The UN estimates that a total of 3 billion tonnes, of which 600 million will be of rare metals will be needed decades from now.

The energy transition drive is setting in motion the race for the fuel of the future. If the industrial revolution was possible thanks to coal and the industrialization of the USA and not only of the twentieth century saw oil as an engine, now the high-tech and green future will also be powered by rare earths.

The development of new electric cars and the technologies for producing and exploiting solar and wind energy depend on these 17 elements.

For example, rare earths are essential for making direct-drive, efficient, and easy-to-maintain wind turbines for large-scale offshore installations.

In the automotive industry, rare earths permanent magnet motors are considered the preferred choice for electric cars.

Original article published on Money.it Italy 2023-02-02 19:19:03. Original title: Terre rare: cosa sono, dove si trovano, a cosa servono