Rare summary

You could say that pinpointing a rare earth metal in a handful of soil is like searching for a needle in a haystack, so it stands to reason that their discovery was the result of chance rather than intention.

That first discovery happened in Sweden, in the late eighteenth century.

You’ve probably heard of dangerously radioactive elements such as uranium, and you probably have an idea of how they’ve been put to use. But did you know that rare earth metals are the real heroes of nuclear power plants?

Unlike radioactive elements, rare earth metals are used to keep the nuclear power plants safe.

If you like to read a good murder mystery, you might be familiar with the 1961 Agatha Christie novel The Pale Horse. The plot hinges on a number of mysterious deaths that are revealed (spoiler alert!) to be poisonings caused by the metal thallium.

Unfortunately, rare-earth-metal poisoning is not just a thing of fiction.  

Many of the political and economic discussions these days include remarks about the growing power of China. But what often goes unmentioned is China’s key resource: rare earth metals.

Remarkably, the vast majority of all the planet’s rare earth metals are in China.  

Afghanistan is also home to a significant amount of rare earth metals – a fact that may help the country liberate itself from its violent history. Positioned in the geopolitical hotbed between the Middle East, Russia, China and India, Afghanistan has long been an arena where foreign forces wage their wars.

Much of today’s turmoil dates back to the 1980s, when the United States supported Afghan rebel factions who were fighting against the Soviet Union.

Could you list the elements present in your smartphone or video game system? More and more, these technologies rely on rare earth metals (which is probably why most people couldn’t tell you what’s going on behind the screens). But rare earth metals are mainly coveted for less pedestrian reasons.  

Indeed, they’re primarily used in new military technologies.  

Like other natural resources, there is a finite amount of rare earth metals, so the central question is: What will we do when our supplies run dry?

While some experts are searching for renewable resources as a replacement, others are looking to the stars.