Why are rare earth metals so valuable?
China is blocking the export of these important minerals. What makes them so special?
Annealed neodymium iron boron magnets sit in barrels before being crushed by powder at a factory in Tianjin, China.
Dougcanter/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The country plays rare earth metals in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China, which is currently at 145%. China is effective, along with other minerals important for defense and industry. Exports have been suspended Of these important metals, seven of the products, such as magnets, that incorporate them. China produces 90% of the world’s rare earths and 90% of the powerful magnets made from these metals. It drives wind turbines, jet engines and electric vehicles. This outage could significantly disrupt the US industry.
Why do rare earths make them special?
Rare earths are silver metals. Of these, 17 range from Lanthanum (atomic number 57) to Lutetium (atomic number 71), most of them are in their own columns in the periodic table due to their anomalous atomic structure. The placement of electrons can impart prominent properties and magnetism, such as the emission used on smartphone screens. They are often added in small quantities to other metals to improve performance. Rare earth magnets are 15 times stronger than magnets without them. China has effectively blocked the exports of the next rare earths of samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, scandium, yttothorium and rotetium.
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Why are they rare?
“Rare earths aren’t that rare in reality,” says Simon Jowitt, a geologist at the University of Nevada. “The rare earth sediments are rare earth sediments that can actually extract rare earths.” Rare earths occur in trace amounts in most rocks, but there are only a few places on the planet where extraction is so high that it becomes economically viable. China has clay deposits with relatively high concentrations of heavy rare earth ores. In the US there is an active mine in Mountain Pass, California, most of which produce light rare earths. However, all the minerals extracted there (45,000 tons in 2024) were sent to China for processing. This is because rare earths are refined, particularly to separate from one another, and to employ environmentally damaging chemicals such as hydrochloric acid. Moreover, low prices in China made it economically unfeasible in the US.
What can the US do now?
In the short term, the US can ease the trade war with China. In the long run, other rare earth sources can be developed within overseas allies and borders. “There are a fair amount of potential mines in the US, Texas and Nebraska, but there’s no point in having mines unless you have an entire supply chain,” Jowitt said. Mining and processing must be handed over.
Another possible source of rare earths is recycling. Old computer hard drives, cell phone batteries all contain rare earth. However, in these sources, all of these metals are mixed with other materials, making recycling difficult, explains Jowitt. Researchers are tackling this issue and came up with imaginative solutions, such as using chemicals produced by bacteria to isolate desired metals. There are already Texas-based companies Make a magnet From a recycled hard drive. The rare earth is in every house, in true gold mines. Finding ways to use them will help our planet as well as consumers and industries.
