Rare earth minerals, which President Donald Trump hopes to secure from Ukraine as part of a deal for US aid, are strategic metals essential for industries developing computers, batteries, and cutting-edge energy technology.

A further 22m tonnes are estimated in Brazil, 21m in Vietnam, while Russia has 10m and India seven million tonnes.

But mining the metals requires heavy chemical use that results in huge amounts of toxic waste and has caused several environmental disasters, making many countries wary of shouldering the considerable costs for production.

And they are often found in minute ore concentrations, meaning large amounts of rock must be processed to produce the refined product, often in powder form.


What are rare earths, and are they rare?

With names like dysprosium, neodymium and cerium, rare earths are a group of 17 heavy metals that are actually abundant in the Earth’s crust across the globe.

In a 2024 assessment, the United States Geological Survey estimated there were 110m tonnes of deposits worldwide, including 44 million in China – by far the world’s largest producer.

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