i3 - July/August 2018 - 16

Many of the REEs are relatively
abundant in the earth's crust and often
occur in the same ore deposits.
and emerging electronics devices.
Many of the REEs are relatively abundant in the earth's crust and often occur in
the same ore deposits. The moniker "rare
earths" was applied to them because they
were discovered together in other rare
minerals and isolated as oxides. They are
often hazardous to extract, which means
time-intensive and costly processing. That
is one reason technology manufacturers
will take their time evaluating the impact
of the newfound mud deposits.
For the past several decades, REEs
have found homes in many consumer
electronics products. Thanks to their
powerful magnetic properties and relative stability at high temperatures, REEs
are particularly useful when size or
energy intensity would prove problematic for manufacturers.
Yttrium, terbium and europium go into
the materials that produce different colors
on visual display screens. Neodymium is
used to make smaller, more efficient and

YTTRIUM: Used
to make LED lighting, high-performance spark plugs
and synthetic gems

NEODYMIUM: Magnetic
properties for loudspeakers and computer hard
drives, wind turbines and
hybrid cars, to develop
"green" technology.

NOT FOR TOURISTS
Minamitori , which means "Southern
Bird Island" in Japanese, is an unpopulated triangular-shaped coral atoll in
the western North Pacific Ocean,
about one square kilometer in size
and mainly used for weather observation. It is the easternmost Japanese
territory, about 1,150 miles southeast
of Tokyo and nearly 800 miles from
the nearest Japanese Island, and offlimits to civilians other than meteorology experts. The REE mineral
deposits are located entirely within
Japan's maritime boundaries.

JULY/AUGUST 2018

powerful magnets for loudspeakers and computer hard drives. Neodymium
is used in wind turbines and hybrid cars, to develop green technology. In addition to TV screens, gadolinium is used in X-ray and MRI scanning systems,
and may be valuable in developing more efficient refrigeration systems.
Camera and telescope lenses use lanthanum, as do studio lighting and
cinema projection applications. Cerium is valuable in catalytic converters
in cars, enabling them to run at high temperatures and managing the chemical reactions in the converter. Lanthanum and cerium are also used to
refine crude oil. Other REEs enhance the strength of metals in aircraft
engines and for special glass, such as welders' visors.
The Rare Earth Technology Alliance estimates that the industry size is
between $10 billion and $15 billion, with just over 100,000 tons of rare
earth elements produced around the world each year.
Because of the increased demand for REEs in strategic industrial and
military applications, several studies have been completed in the past few
years, especially as western countries seek additional sources for the materials outside of China. A 2017 analysis of the "global rare earth element exploration boom" identified 98 metric tons of potential REE oxides, with the
major sources in Canada (38 metric tons), Greenland (39 metric tons) and
Africa (10.3 metric tons). The researchers concluded that the recent
I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

i3 - July/August 2018

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