Rare earth elements are not rare on Earth, but they tend to be distributed throughout the crust in low concentrations. Without the complex and often environmentally harmful processes involved in converting the ore into a usable form, the ore alone is of relatively little value, says Julie Klinger, a geographer at the University of Delaware at Newark. As a result, the rare earth mining industry is grappling with the legacy of environmental problems.
Rare earth elements are mined by digging wide open pits that can pollute the environment and disrupt ecosystems. When poorly regulated, mining can produce wastewater pools filled with acids, heavy metals, and radioactive materials that can leach into groundwater. Converting raw ore into a useful form for making magnets and other technologies is a long endeavor that requires large amounts of water and potentially toxic chemicals and generates bulky waste.
Rare earth is now integral to the manufacture of many carbon-neutral technologies, as well as a range of vehicles that move the modern world. These elements are the building blocks of tiny, super-efficient permanent magnets that make smartphones buzz, wind turbines spin, electric vehicles zoom, and more.
President Joe Biden's administration stated in February 2021 that the extraction of rare earth resources in the United States is a matter of national security.
Few countries are currently mining for rare earths (shown). But rare earth resources have been detected in many other places, including Vietnam, Turkey, and Greenland.
Source:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/rare-earth-mining-renewable-energy-future
