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Rare Earths
Rare Earths
That is a picture of the mountain pass mine in California. This mine is a one of a kind in the US. Rare earth metals are mined here. These metals are vital for technology, defense, and our future. Their name is misleading, as they are not particularly rare in nature, but they are difficult to extract. When they are mined, these elements are all mixed together, and separating them is tough. And while they aren’t rare on average, they also are not heavily concentrated in most areas, so finding minable areas is also a challenge. These 17 elements are very important, as they have a variety of crucial uses. Neodymium is vital for the powerful magnets inside electronics such as speakers. Lanthanum is used in lighting and camera/telescope lenses. The catalytic converters in many cars are made of Cerium. Praseodymium gives strength to aircraft engines. Gadolinium is used in X-ray and MRI scanners. Europium is part of nuclear reactor control rods. Yttrium and terbium are both used in television and computer screens. Rare earth metals are also key for a sustainable future. Electric vehicles, wind turbines, and fuel cells all rely on them. You can see that these metals are important.
Rare earth metals consist of the lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. The rare earth elements are often divided into heavy and light subgroups. The lanthanides are located at the bottom of the periodic table. The block where they reside is known as the “f-block.” This is because as you move across these two rows, electrons are added to the F orbital. Since the f orbital is more inner, the lanthanides share similar chemical properties, as the outer electron shells aren’t changing. These elements are soft metals with a silvery white color, but when exposed to air they oxidize, dulling their color and brightness. You can see several rare earth oxides below.
Most Lanthanides have quite high melting points, ranging from 1000 to 1200 Kelvin. They are good conductors of heat and electricity, and have great magnetic properties as well. They mainly take the 3+ oxidation state. Promethium is the only radioactive rare earth element, the rest are radioactivity stable. Rare earth metals are most useful in alloys with other metals.
As shown earlier, the US only has one rare earth mine. China produces over 90 percent of the world’s rare earth supply, and the US relies on them for the vast majority of their rare earths. Even the rare earths that are mined at the Mountain Pass mine have to be shipped to China for processing. These metals are important for both technology and defense, and so their supply should definitely be a national security issue. A trade war with China could jeopardize these metals and consequently major industries. The US is starting to mine more of its own rare earths, but processing rare earths can have costly environmental drawbacks. China’s largest mines are located in the city of Baotou. Radioactive tailings from the Bayan Obo Mine there had contaminated water supplies in local villages.
One way to help get a more stable and sustainable supply of these important elements is through reusing and recycling. Recycling electronics can recover many precious metals, including rare earths. Recycling magnets, fluorescent lamps, batteries and catalysts can also yield rare earths. However, very little rare earth elements are currently being recycled. Many products are currently not designed for easy recycling of rare earths, and this is something the government should incentivize companies to do. Recycling rare earth elements is a great way to help create a more sustainable world.
To learn more about rare earths, visit https://geology.com/articles/rare-earth-elements/
To learn more about rare earth recycling efforts, visit https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/rare-earth-metals-recycling/
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