"Rare-earth elements (REEs) are used as components in high technology devices, including smart phones, digital cameras, computer hard disks, fluorescent and light-emitting-diode (LED) lights, flat screen televisions, computer monitors, and electronic displays. Large quantities of some REEs are used in clean energy and defense technologies."
"Specific REEs are used individually or in combination to make phosphors—substances that emit luminescence—for many types of ray tubes and flat panel displays, in screens that range in size from smart phone displays to stadium scoreboards. Some REEs are used in fluorescent and LED lighting. Yttrium, europium, and terbium phosphors are the red-green-blue phosphors used in many light bulbs, panels, and televisions. The glass industry is the largest consumer of REE raw materials, using them for glass polishing and as additives that provide color and special optical properties. Lanthanum makes up as much as 50 percent of digital camera lenses, including cell phone cameras."
"Lanthanum-based catalysts are used to refine petroleum. Cerium-based catalysts are used in automotive catalytic converters"
In magnets:
"Magnets that employ REEs are rapidly growing in application. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are the strongest magnets known, useful when space and weight are limiting factors. Rare-earth magnets are used in computer hard disks and CD–ROM and DVD disk drives. The spindle of a disk drive attains high stability in its spinning motion when driven by a rare-earth magnet. These magnets are also used in a variety of conventional automotive subsystems, such as power steering, electric windows, power seats, and audio speakers."
In batteries:
"Nickel-metal hydride batteries are built with lanthanum-based alloys as anodes. These battery types, when used in hybrid electric cars, contain significant amounts of lanthanum, requiring as much as 10 to 15 kilograms per electric vehicle."
In steel alloys:
"Cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium, commonly in the form of a mixed oxide known as mischmetal, are used in steel making to remove impurities and in the production of special alloys."
Learn More:
Rare Earths Statistics and Information (Website), U.S. Geological Survey Portal for information on annual production, price, and use of rare earth elements since 1997, plus links to further information.
Rare Earth Elements - End Use and Recyclability (Report), U.S. Geological Survey 2011 report on established and newer markets for rare earth elements. Describes in detail the quantities of specific rare earth elements used in different industries, and discusses prospects for future recycling.
A rare-earth mineral contains one or more rare-earth elements as major metal constituents. Rare-earth minerals are usually found in association with alkaline to peralkaline igneous complexes in pegmatites. This would be associated with alkaline magmas or with carbonatite intrusives.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Rare-earth_mineral
elements (REEs) and rare metals are key ingredients for glass, lights, magnets, batteries, and catalytic converters, and used in everything from cell phones to cars. For example, to make the magnet for one wind turbine, you need about 300 kilograms of neodymium.
"Rare-earth elements (REEs) are used as components in high technology devices, including smart phones, digital cameras, computer hard disks, fluorescent and light-emitting-diode (LED) lights, flat screen televisions, computer monitors, and electronic displays.
Rare-earth elements (REEs) are used in the components of many devices used daily in our modern society, such as: the screens of smart phones, computers, and flat panel televisions; the motors of computer drives; batteries of hybrid and electric cars; and new generation light bulbs.
Rare earth elements (REEs), which comprise of only 17 elements from the entire periodic table, play a critical role to our national security, energy independence, environmental future, and economic growth. Many advanced technologies have components made from REEs such as magnets, batteries, phosphors, and catalysts.
Rare earths are components in many familiar technologies, including smartphones, LED lights, and hybrid cars. A few rare earth elements are used in oil refining and nuclear power; others are important for wind turbines and electric vehicles; and more specialized uses occur in medicine and manufacturing.
In the light REEs category, neodymium has the highest number of uses. For one, you can use it on mobile phones, medical equipment, and electric cars. It's the best rare metal for making permanent magnets. Neodymium magnets are strong and highly useful when weight and space are limiting factors.
Many of the vivid red, blue, and green colors you see on your screen are due to rare-earth metals, which are also used in the smartphone's circuitry and in the speakers. Also, your phone would not be able to vibrate without neodymium and dysprosium.
In terms of abundance in the Earth's crust, the rarest metals are: gold, platinum, osmium, iridium, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, tellurium and rhenium. These metals are different from Rare Earth Elements, which aren't actually rare in terms of abundance, but are rarely found in concentrated ore deposits.
China. Unsurprisingly, China has the highest reserves of rare earth minerals at 44 million MT. The country was also the world's leading rare earths producer in 2023 by a long shot, putting out 240,000 MT. Despite its top position, China remains focused on ensuring that its rare earths reserves remain elevated.
Historically, however, demand for rare earths has risen at a rate of about 10 percent per year. If demand continued to grow at this rate and no recycling of produced rare earths were undertaken, known world reserves likely would be exhausted sometime after the mid-21st century.
The difficulty of separating and purifying the rare earth elements makes their production very expensive. Mining of rare earth metals, as with all metals, begins by digging rock or sand from the ground, separating out the valuable ore from the waste rock (tailings), and then refining the ore to separate out the metal.
Some rare earth metals, such as cerium, europium, and yttrium, have been discovered to be non-toxic and do not accumulate in the human body. Other rare earth metals, however, such as gadolinium, terbium, and dysprosium, can be harmful if consumed in large quantities.
However, REE mining has been linked to larger environmental impacts than other minerals and metals. REEs are usually present in very low concentrations and are combined; this means that their extraction and separation are expensive, require large amounts of energy and water, and generate large quantities of waste.
Dysprosium (Dy) and Terbium (Tb) are Heavy Rare Earth (HRE) metals used to enhance the high-temperature performance of Neodymium magnets. Dy and Tb are both rare and expensive, and they are found in very few mines outside China. ...
Rare earth metals are used in anti-counterfeiting industry.
Some rare earth metals commonly used in electronics include lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), neodymium (Nd), samarium (Sm), europium (Er), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy). Rare earths have been widely used in semiconductors, optoelectronic materials, magnetic materials, and other industries.
Because of their unique physical, chemical, magnetic, luminescent properties, these elements help to make many technological advantages such as performing at reduced energy consumption, greater efficiency, miniaturization, speed, durability and thermal stability.
Reusing and recycling rare earths can cut down on the need for mining, which can pollute soil and water with toxic heavy metals like arsenic. Rare earth mining operations have also become embroiled in local conflicts and human rights violations.
Rare earths are mined by digging vast open pits in the ground, which can contaminate the environment and disrupt ecosystems. When poorly regulated, mining can produce wastewater ponds filled with acids, heavy metals and radioactive material that might leak into groundwater.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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