They are also known as rare earth oxides because it is very rare to find their oxides. They are critical to high-performance optics and lasers, and essential to the most powerful magnets and superconductors in the world. And yet, most Prius owners don't even know they use this rare earth element every day. Rare earth metals are used to make light bulbs, cell phones, electric cars, MRI machines, camera lenses, and other technology. There is no single rare earth element market. Rare earth metals, a group of 17 chemical elements in the Earth’s crust, are crucial to keeping our society running smoothly–and to transitioning to a clean-tech-driven economy. Rare earth metals are integral to a lot of modern technology, and China controls the vast majority of the world’s supply. While most of these elements are not actually rare in terms of general amount of these elements in the earth's crust, they are rarely found in sufficient abundance in a single location for their mining to be economically viable. Rare earth metals are used to make light bulbs, cell phones, electric cars, MRI machines, camera lenses, and other technology. These elements, also called rare earth metals, were discovered in 1787 by chemist Lieutenant Carl Axel Arrhenius, after he found a strangely heavy, black rock in a quarry in Ytterby, Sweden, which he named ytterbite [sources: Vanderkrogt, Think Global Green]. REMs have very diverse uses starting from daily life technologies to high-end technologies and military use. May 12, 2017 Hilman Rojak Leave a Comment on Why Are Rare Earth Metals Important. In 2009, world production of rare earth elements totaled 126,230 metric tons, with China producing 95% of the world’s total. Although there are seventeen rare earth elements with a wide variety of uses, two in particular (Neodymium and Praseodymium, or NdPr for short), are becoming increasingly important due to their link to the growth of a low carbon economy. A rare-earth element (REE) or rare-earth metal (REM), as defined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, is one of a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the fifteen lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Rare earth metals are important, naturally-occurring elements mined from the earth’s crust. They are increasingly becoming more important in developing the latest high-tech products … Rare earth metals are actually not as rare as their name might imply. When delving into technology metals, you’ll most certainly come across rare earth metals, rare earth elements, rare earth oxides, and rare metals.. What do they mean? In this episode of our Ask NRCan podcast, we sit down with expert Janice Zinck to discuss what rare earth elements are, why they are important and what type of research Natural Resources Canada is doing to help Canadian industry. Image caption Rare earth elements are chemically similar and are sometimes used in similar ways "Rare earths" are a group of 17 chemically similar elements crucial to the manufacture of … Could rare earth elements be the next thing to affect future international relations and politics? Why Are Rare Earth Metals Important. As a result, rare earths are a hot geopolitical issue. The californian rare earths mine caught between trump and solved 3 prime time rare earth metals are increasingly i the californian rare earths mine caught between trump and china can t control the market in rare earth elements australia may be the saving grace for rare earth metals Visualizing The Importance Of Rare Earth Elements […] Increasingly, rare earth elements are being found in electronics as well. Rare earth elements are an essential part of many high-tech devices. Rare Earth metals have long been a niche, but strategically important part of the mining industry. They are also known as rare earth metals because all of them are metals. The demand for rare earth elements is increasing, and the supply is shrinking quickly. I've been hearing a lot in the media about how important rare earth metals are (from the economic standpoint of China limiting their export), but what do some of them actually do that makes them so essential that can't be done with more common elements like silicon, gold, copper, aluminum, germanium, etc? They are critical to high-performance optics and lasers, and essential to the most powerful magnets and superconductors in … Rare earth elements are found in just about every type of high-tech device from smart phones to electric vehicles. Although rare earth metals are critical in the technology we use every day, mining and processing these metals is extremely hazardous to the environment.