Turns out that rare earth elements are not so rare

You’ve probably heard of rare earth elements by now, as they often pop up in news headlines and political discussions. And when you hear that the elements are rare, you expect them to be…well, rare. But it turns out that rare earth elements aren’t rare at all.

In fact, you could take a shovel to your yard and probably dig up a bit of many of the elements used in electronic devices as catalysts, meaning they are useful in various chemical reactions.

Without rare earth elements, there are no smartphones and computers.

Rare earth elements are more abundant in some places, but they’re not hard to find. The problem is that rare earth elements typically make up only a small amount of the local soil composition.

Generally, to get a significant amount of rare earth elements, you must excavate huge quantities of earth from vast open pits, processing the soil to the rare metals from the rest. Refining rare earth elements can inflict serious damage on the environment and generate a lot of waste. Powerful acids and other solutions are often used to separate rare earth elements from the rest of the soil.

For a long time, China enjoyed a near-monopoly on rare earth metal production. China has set up enormous processing centers and has been more willing to bear the risks that come with digging up and refining rare earth elements. In 2022, China still produced the most of any country at 210,000 metric tons (MT), while the U.S. and Australia produced 43,000 MT and 18,000 MT, respectively.

Today, rare earth metal production is ramping up in the U.S., Australia, and arctic Sweden, where 1 million tons have been found.