Problems With Rare Earth

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They are called rare earth minerals, because they are uneconomical to mine, as they are so widely dispersed and not because they are rare. They are also often environmentally damaging to mine. Recent research however, has discovered a surprising concentration of rare earth elements in the mud at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Japanese geologists say, it is now considered that one square metal-rich mud on the seafloor, 2.3 kilometres wide may keep enough rare earth metals meet most of the global demand for a full year.

Alex King, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory in Iowa says "The heavier rare earths tend to be ones that command greater price because of their scarcity".

Each battery in electric cars requires 10-15 kg per battery of lanthanum, which costs $64,000 a kilo. Lanthanum is widely used in both the motor and battery of electrical cars.
Rhodium is a very hard metal to work with because it is stressed and brittle, but it is applied as plating for jewellery because it is glitteringly, dazzling, white and mirror-like in appearance. It increases the appearance of the size of a diamond because it makes it difficult to tell exactly where the metal begins and the gem ends. It costs as much $29,860 per kilo.
Europium is used in LED TV screens for the red colouring costs $8000 per kilo. It is also used in Euro banknotes as an anti-counterfeiting phosphors and is luminescent. Under certain conditions it makes the notes appear to be red.
Neodymium, a magnetic alloy, is most commonly used in magnets for wind turbines and computer disk drives, in ear-phones, microphones and loudspeakers, mobile phones, guitar pick-ups. It is also used in the tiny magnets that direct the fins of bombs. Valued at $1000 a kilo.
Erbium is vital for use in fibre-optic telecommunication cables. It is used also in nuclear technology as well as a wide variety of medical applications. Its value is $650 per kilogram, because it alone possesses these optical properties.
Dysprosium is a component of magnets in hybrid car motors, at $300 per kilo.

The cost of rare earth minerals are negligible in comparison to gold at $51,000 a kilo, or titanium at $540,000 a kilo or palladium at $1,571,000 a kilo.

About the Author:
Dr Wendy Stenberg-Tendys and her husband are CEO's and founders of YouMe Support Foundation, providing high school education grants for children who are without hope. You can help in this really great project by taking a few minutes to check out the Sponsor a Student program at (http://youmesupport.org). It will change the life of some really needy kids in the South Pacific.
Feel free to contact Wendy on [email protected]



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