Rare-earth element

The rare-earth elements (REE), also called rare-earth metals, or rare earths, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. The 15 lanthanides (or lanthanoids),^[a] along with scandium and yttrium, are usually included as rare earths. Compounds containing rare earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes.

The term "rare-earth" is a misnomer, because they are not actually scarce, but because they are only found in compounds, not as pure metals, and are difficult to isolate and purify. They are relatively plentiful in the entire Earth's crust (cerium being the 25th-most-abundant element at 68 parts per million, more abundant than copper), but in practice they are spread thinly as trace impurities, so to obtain rare earths at usable purity requires processing enormous amounts of raw ore at great expense.

Scandium and yttrium are considered rare-earth elements because they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties, but have different electrical and magnetic properties. All isotopes of promethium are radioactive, and it does not occur naturally in the earth's crust, except for a trace amount generated by spontaneous fission of uranium-238. They are often found in minerals with thorium, and less commonly uranium.

Because of their geochemical properties, rare-earth elements are typically dispersed and not often found concentrated in rare-earth minerals. Consequently, economically exploitable ore deposits are sparse. The first rare-earth mineral discovered (1787) was gadolinite, a black mineral composed of cerium, yttrium, iron, silicon, and other elements. This mineral was extracted from a mine in the village of Ytterby in Sweden. Four of the rare-earth elements bear names derived from this single location. Commercial production in modern times describes the reserves of the rare-earth elements in terms of "rare-earth oxides" (REOs) containing mixtures of various rare earth elements in oxide compounds.

The uses, applications, and demand for rare-earth elements have expanded over the years. In 2015, most REEs were being used for catalysts and magnets. The global move towards renewable energy technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines, along with advanced electronics, defence applications, and consumer electronics such as smartphones, has caused increased demand for REEs.

China dominates the rest of the world in terms of REE reserves and production; in 2019, it supplied around 90% of the global demand for the 17 rare-earth powders. The Chinese Government placed restrictions on its supply and sales of REEs in the 2000s for various reasons, and after United States president Donald Trump escalated the trade war with China in 2025, China introduced further restrictions, leading other countries with reserves to step up their exploration and production efforts. As of 2025, the US and Myanmar produce the second- and third-highest amounts of REEs, but Brazil and India have the second- and third-largest reserves of the metals.

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