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Rare
Earth Elements (REEs) are any of
the abundant metallic elements
of atomic number 57 through 71,
of which the oxides are
classified as rare earths.
Scandium and Yttrium are also
considered to be REEs.
REEs have unique physical and
chemical properties and are
irreplaceable components of many
advanced electronic devices,
products for energy efficiency,
and innovations focused on
reducing greenhouse gases. As
such they are essential to many
of the world’s emerging green
technologies.
REEs are divided into two groups
– Light Rare Earth Elements (LREEs),
and Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs).
The following table identifies
which elements fall into the two
categories, and illustrates the
price per kilogram is for REE
oxides, using FOB December 2009
data.
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Lanthanum (Ln) |
5.10 |
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Europium (Eu) |
480.00 |
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Cerium |
4.20 |
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Gadolinium (Gd) |
7.86 |
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Praseodymium (Pr) |
20.00 |
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Terbium (Tb) |
350.33 |
| Neodymium (Nd) |
21.00 |
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Dysprosium (Dy) |
118.00 |
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Samarium (Sm) |
3.40 |
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Holmium (Ho) |
25.38 |
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Erbium (Er) |
25.50 |
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Thulium (Tm) |
790.00 |
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Ytterbium (Yb) |
155.30 |
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Lutetium (Lu) |
238.00 |
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Yttrium (Y) |
10.01 |
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*Note that prices are extremely volatile, and are subject to change regularly.
HREEs
extremely rare in economic
quantities, and therefore they
are more valuable than the more
common LREEs.
The current world REEs supply is
exported almost exclusively from
China, but the Chinese demand
for these elements is projected
to match the domestic supply in
the near future. If the
projected demand for REEs comes
to fruition, the rest of the
world will be forced to secure
its own strategic supply. In
short, the near-term production
of REEs located outside of China
will be a crucial step in
creating a greener future for
the entire planet.
In the column to the left is a
description of products produced
using REEs. Also included is a
description of the additional
metals that were formerly
produced from the Kutessay II
mine, and some economic
information on Uranium.
For more
information on REEs, or to ask a
REEs expert a question, please
visit:
www.raremetalblog.com
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