Rare earth element Totally Explained

Everything about Rare Earth Element totally explained

Rare earth elements and rare earth metals are, according to IUPAC, the collection of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, namely scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanoids. Scandium and yttrium are considered rare earths since they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanoids and share similar chemical properties with them.

Discovery and early history

Rare earth elements became known to the world with the discovery of the the black mineral ytterbite (also known as gadolinite) by Lieutenant Karl Arrhenius in the year 1787, in a quarry in the village of Ytterby, Sweden. Many of the rare earths are named in honor of the scientists who discovered or elucidated the elemental properties, geographical discovery, Latin or Greek, or mythology:

Lanthanum	from the Greek "lanthanon" meaning I am hidden.
Cerium	after Greek deity of fertility, Ceres.
Praseodymium	from the Greek "praso" which means leek-green.
Neodymium	from a Greek word "neo" which means new-one.
Promethium	after Prometheus who brought fire to mortals.
Samarium	Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets discovered the rare-earth ore called samarskite.
Gadolinium	after Johan Gadolin (1760-1852) to honor his investigation of rare earths.
Dysprosium	from the Greek "dysprositos" meaning hard to get.
Thulium	refers to the mythological land of Thule.
Ytterbium	named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden, where the first rare earth ore was discovered.

The term "Rare Earth" derives its name from the misconception on their discovery that some of the elements exhibit low natural abundancy. However, with the exception of the highly-unstable promethium, the rare earth elements are found in relatively high concentrations in the earth's crust with Cerium being the 25th most abundant element in the earth's crust at 68 parts per million.
The principal sources of rare earth elements are the minerals bastnasite, monazite, and loparite and the lateritic ion-adsorption clays. Despite their high relative abundance, rare-earth minerals are more difficult to mine and extract than equivalent sources of transition metals (due in part to their very similar chemical properties), making the rare earth elements relatively expensive. Their industrial use was very limited until efficient separation techniques were developed, such as ion exchange, fractional crystallization and liquid-liquid extraction during the late 50's and early 60's.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are often used:

REE = rare earth elements
LREE = light rare earth elements (La-Sm)
HREE = heavy rare earth elements (Eu-Lu)

Technological applications

Rare earth elements are incorporated into many modern technological devices, including superconductors, miniaturized magnets, electronic polishers, refining catalysts and hybrid car components. Rare earth ions are used as the active ions in luminescent materials used in optoelectronics applications, most notably the laser. Phosphors with rare earth dopants are also widely used in cathode ray tube technology such as television sets.

Global rare earth production

Up until 1948, most of the world's Rare Earths were sourced from placer sand deposits in India and Brazil. Through the 50's, South Africa then took the status as the world's Rare Earth source, after large Rare Earth bearing veins were discovered in Monazite. Unfortunately, this new demand has strained supply, and there's growing concern that the world may soon face a shortage of the materials. All of the world's heavy rare earths (such as dysprosium) are sourced from Chinese Rare Earth sources such as the polymetallic Bayan Obo deposit. High Rare Earth prices have wreaked havoc on many rural Chinese villages, as many illegal rare earth mines have been spewing toxic waste into the general water supply.
Chinese export quotas have also resulted in a dramatic shift in the world's Rare Earth knowledge base. For example, the division of General Motors which deals with miniaturized magnet research recently shut down its US office and moved all of its staff to China.
A few sites are under development outside of China, the most significant of which are the remote Hoidas Lake project in northern Canada and the Mt. Weld project in Australia. The Hoidas Lake project has the potential to supply about 10% of the $1 billion of REE consumption that occurs in North American every year.

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