Following a recent summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea, where a deal was reached to maintain the flow of Chinese rare earth exports, these obscure yet critical elements are once again making global headlines. The agreement underscores the strategic importance of these materials to every major industrial and military power.
Here are the essential facts about the elements underpinning modern technology:
What Exactly Are Rare Earth Elements?
Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 distinct elements found in the Earth’s crust. They are primarily composed of:
- Lanthanides (or Lanthanoids): A series of 15 silvery-white, soft, heavy metals.
- Scandium and Yttrium: Two additional elements included due to their similar chemical properties and occurrence in the same ore deposits.
In their order on the periodic table, the 17 rare earth elements are: Scandium, Yttrium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium, Promethium, Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, and Lutetium.
The Vital Role in Modern Technology and Industry
Though used in small amounts, rare earths are indispensable across a vast array of high-tech and essential applications. The products they enable are foundational to both the consumer market and national defense:
- Consumer Electronics: Found in components like magnets in iPhones and other smart devices, as well as in washing machines.
- Green Technology: They are critical components in electric vehicle (EV) motors and wind turbines, helping the global transition to sustainable energy.
- Military Applications: Essential for advanced weaponry, including magnets in the F-35 fighter jet, missiles, and sophisticated radar systems.
- Other Industrial Uses: They are also utilized in medical imaging equipment, for catalysts in oil refining, and various specialized industrial processes.
Any disruption in their supply can cause manufacturing lines to halt quickly. A clear example occurred earlier this year when Chinese export controls led to shortages that forced automakers to temporarily pause some production.
Are They Truly Rare? A Matter of Concentration
Despite their name, rare earth elements are not uncommon in the sense of being scarce. In fact, some, like Cerium, are more common than elements like lead.
The term “rare” refers to the difficulty in finding them in a concentrated, easily extractable form. They are typically spread thinly across the Earth’s crust and are often mixed together or with other non-rare earth minerals. This makes the process of locating large, viable deposits difficult and the subsequent extraction and purification process highly costly.
China’s Global Dominance in the Supply Chain
While the original separation and refinement processes were pioneered by U.S. scientists in the 1950s, China has risen to dominate the entire rare earth supply chain since the 1980s. This dominance was built on lower operating costs, a history of less stringent environmental regulations, and consistent, decades-long government support.
The nation’s control is comprehensive:
- Mine Production: China accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s mine production.
- Refined Production and Magnet Output: Its dominance is even greater in the downstream processing, controlling 90% or more of global refined rare earth output and the manufacturing of rare earth magnets.
Projects in the U.S., Europe, and Australia are underway to establish alternative, non-Chinese supply chains, but it is widely acknowledged that it will take several years for these ventures to produce significant, market-altering quantities. In the interim, China continues to exert geopolitical pressure by restricting the export of not only the elements themselves but also the specialized equipment required to mine and refine them.
Environmental and Regulatory Challenges
The industrial process of rare earth element extraction and processing carries a significant environmental cost, which has historically been a barrier for other countries to compete with China.
- Toxic Waste: Processing often requires the use of strong solvents, which generate toxic waste that can severely pollute soil, water sources, and the atmosphere.
- Radioactive Byproducts: Some rare earth ores naturally contain radioactive elements like thorium or uranium. The process of removing these radioactive materials often involves using acid, adding complex health and environmental regulatory hurdles to the sector’s development.
While more environmentally sound technologies are being developed, their widespread adoption is still a work in progress, leaving the industry facing stringent health and environmental scrutiny globally.