Rare earth metals refer to a set of 17 elements in the periodic table, specifically lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium. Despite their name, rare metals are relatively plentiful in the Earth's crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element. However, they are difficult and expensive to mine and process separated from their ores.
Uses of Rare Earth Metals
Rare Earth Metals play a crucial role in many modern technologies and industries due to their unique magnetic, catalytic, and electrochemical properties. Some key applications include:
- Permanent magnets: Neodymium and samarium-cobalt rare earth magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, and other applications rely on rare earth elements for their remarkably strong magnetic properties.
- Batteries: Lanthanum is used in nickel-metal hydride batteries, while lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles contain smaller amounts of lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium.
- Phosphors: Yttrium, europium, terbium, and cerium are commonly used as phosphors in television and computer screens, smart phones, LED lighting, and fluorescent lighting. They enable screens and lamps to glow in saturated colors.
- Catalysts: Cerium is widely used as an automotive catalyst in catalytic converters to reduce emissions. Lanthanum is also used as a catalyst for petroleum refining and synthetic fuel production.
- Lasers: Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystals are utilized in solid-state lasers. Erbium, holmium, thulium, and neodymium are also employed in various laser technologies.
- Glass polishing: Cerium oxide and cerium sulfate are employed as abrasives for smoothing and polishing optical glass.
- Petroleum refining: Lanthanum is employed as a catalyst for removing impurities and upgrading crude oil in refineries.
Global Supply and Demand of Rare Earth Metals
According to the US Geological Survey, an estimated 120 million metric tons of rare earth resources have been identified worldwide as of 2021. However, only a small portion of these deposits have been identified as economic to mine and process. Currently, China accounts for over 60% of global rare earth mining capacity and dominates global rare earth supply. This has raised concerns over supply chain security as China has shown willingness to leverage its rare earth monopoly in political disputes.
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