Don't think that Rare Earth are materials which are rarely or scarcely available on Earth.
Rare Earth Means Difficult to Extract from its Ore. Here Ore is referred as Earth. Rare refers to Difficulty.
What are the Products that are manufactured using Rare Earths?
Rare Earths are used in magnets, computer disk drives, components for hybrid cars and other high-tech products,Advanced alloys, special metals, steel making, nickel metal hydride battery; Automobile exhaust emission control catalyst, fluid cracking catalyst; Ceramic powder for engineer ceramic, ceramic composites, electronic ceramics, ceramic coatings, colorants; Glass colorants, stabilizers, UV absorbers, mirrors, cut crystal glass, TV screens, cathode ray tubes; Magnetics; Phosphors; Coatings, makeup, medicines
Which countries produce Rare Earths?
97% of world production comes from China.
Why all the Developed countries are NOW worried about these Rare Earths?
Lot of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies depend on Rare Earths. If enough supply is not there, then these countries economy will be in peril. For example, recently, there was a territorial dispute between china and japan following the arrest of a chinese fishing captain by japan. Immediately, china stopped the export of rare earths to japan and now the economy of japan is in troubled waters.
Why other countries are not producing rare earths?
Imagine a situation like this. You are producing an item and selling it for 100 dollars. Suddenly, another company sells the same item for just 5 dollars. What will be happen to you? You cannot reduce your selling price to 5 dollars. Because, for you the manufacturing cost itself is 95 dollars.
In the same way, actually USA, Australia and other countries were mining and producing Rare Earths. But, suddenly, in 1990, China found large deposits of rare earths and sold it at very cheap rates. Because of this, all other countries shut down their rare earth mines and started importing rare earths from china.
Anyway, rare earth ban is only to Japan. Why other countries are worried?
China will automatically extend this ban to USA and other developed countries citing some other reasons. So they are now thinking of reopening their old shutdown mines; and also trying exract rare earths from old used electronic goods.
Once again, china has proved it is the Controller of this world.
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| Magnets of various sizes produced using Rare Earths |