Rare Earth Elements: Why India, the US, and the World Are Racing to Secure Them

You probably don't think about rare earth elements when you unlock your smartphone, but you should. These 17 elements — the 15 lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium — are essential for modern technology. And the global race to control their supply is reshaping geopolitics.

What Are Rare Earth Elements?

Despite their name, most rare earth elements aren't actually rare in the Earth's crust. Cerium is more abundant than copper. The name comes from the 18th century when they were difficult to isolate from the minerals in which they were found.

The 17 rare earth elements:

Lanthanides (elements 57-71):

• Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Promethium (Pm), Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy), Holmium (Ho), Erbium (Er), Thulium (Tm), Ytterbium (Yb), Lutetium (Lu)

Plus two additional elements:

• Scandium (Sc, element 21)
• Yttrium (Y, element 39)

These elements share similar chemical properties because they all have partially filled 4f electron orbitals (except scandium and yttrium, which behave similarly due to their ionic radii).

Why They Matter So Much

Rare earth elements have unique magnetic, luminescent, and electrochemical properties that no other elements can replicate:

Neodymium (Nd):

• Creates the world's strongest permanent magnets (NdFeB magnets)
• Found in every electric vehicle motor, wind turbine generator, and hard drive
• A single electric car uses about 1-2 kg of neodymium

Europium (Eu) and Terbium (Tb):

• Essential for LED lighting and display screens
• Europium produces red phosphors, terbium produces green
• Without them, your phone screen wouldn't display colours properly

Lanthanum (La):

• Used in hybrid car batteries (NiMH batteries)
• Essential in petroleum refining catalysts
• Each Toyota Prius contains about 10 kg of lanthanum

Cerium (Ce):

• The most abundant rare earth element
• Used in catalytic converters (reducing vehicle emissions)
• Essential in glass polishing compounds

Gadolinium (Gd):

• Used in MRI contrast agents in hospitals
• Has unique magnetic properties used in data storage

The Supply Chain Problem

China's Dominance

China controls approximately 60% of rare earth mining and over 85% of processing worldwide. This isn't an accident — it's the result of decades of strategic investment.

In the 1990s, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously said: "The Middle East has oil. China has rare earths."

China's dominance means that any geopolitical tension can disrupt the supply of materials essential for:

• Military equipment (precision-guided munitions, jet engines)
• Clean energy technology (wind turbines, EV batteries)
• Consumer electronics (smartphones, laptops)
• Medical devices (MRI machines)

The 2010 Wake-Up Call

In 2010, China temporarily restricted rare earth exports to Japan during a territorial dispute. Prices of some rare earth elements increased by 10x almost overnight. This event was a wake-up call for the rest of the world.

India's Rare Earth Ambitions

India holds an estimated 6% of the world's rare earth reserves, primarily in:

• Monazite sands along the coasts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha
• Beach sand deposits containing monazite and xenotime minerals
• The Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a government enterprise, has been processing monazite since the 1950s

Recent developments:

• India announced plans to invest over $1 billion in rare earth processing facilities
• The CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur is developing new extraction technologies
• India is exploring partnerships with Australia, Japan, and the US to build alternative supply chains
• The Indian Bureau of Mines has identified new deposits in Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand

Challenges India faces:

• Monazite processing generates radioactive thorium waste, requiring careful handling
• India currently lacks the processing capacity to refine rare earths at scale
• Environmental regulations around coastal mining are strict
• The technology gap in downstream processing (turning raw materials into magnets and alloys) remains significant

The US Response

The United States has taken aggressive steps to rebuild its rare earth capabilities:

Mountain Pass Mine (California):

• The only operating rare earth mine in the US
• Operated by MP Materials
• Produces about 15% of global rare earth concentrate
• Still sends most material to China for processing

The CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act include provisions for critical mineral supply chains, including rare earths.

Department of Defense investments:

• Funded rare earth processing facilities in Texas
• Invested in recycling technologies to recover rare earths from electronics waste
• Partnered with allied nations (Australia, Canada) for supply diversification

The Chemistry Behind the Challenge

Why Are They Hard to Separate?

All lanthanides have similar ionic radii and chemical properties because the 4f electrons are buried deep inside the electron cloud and don't significantly affect chemical bonding. This means:

• They all form +3 ions predominantly
• Their chemical reactions are very similar
• Separating one from another requires hundreds of repeated solvent extraction steps
• Traditional separation uses large volumes of organic solvents and acids

Modern Separation Techniques

Solvent extraction: The current standard, using organic molecules that show slight preference for different rare earths based on tiny size differences.

Ion exchange chromatography: More precise but slower. Used for producing ultra-high-purity rare earths for electronics.

Emerging methods:

• Bioleaching using specialized bacteria
• Membrane-based separations
• Electrochemical methods that are more environmentally friendly

Recycling: The Urban Mine

Less than 1% of rare earth elements are currently recycled. This is changing:

Sources for recycling:

• Old hard drives (contain NdFeB magnets)
• Fluorescent light bulbs (contain europium, terbium, yttrium)
• Hybrid car batteries (contain lanthanum, cerium)
• Electronic waste (phones, laptops)

Why recycling is difficult:

• Rare earths are used in small quantities, dispersed across many products
• Separating them from other materials is energy-intensive
• Collection systems for end-of-life products are inadequate

The Future

The demand for rare earth elements is projected to increase 5-7x by 2040, driven by:

• Electric vehicle adoption (each EV needs ~0.5 kg of dysprosium and 1-2 kg of neodymium)
• Wind energy expansion (a single offshore turbine needs ~600 kg of rare earth magnets)
• Defence modernisation programs worldwide
• Growing demand for consumer electronics

Explore the rare earth elements on our interactive periodic table — click on any lanthanide to see its properties, discovery history, and real-world applications. Understanding these elements isn't just chemistry anymore — it's geopolitics.