So much, but not enough: what are rare earth metals and what are they for?

In recent months, there has been an active discussion of issues related to the extraction of rare earth metals in different regions of the world. In particular, a big discussion began after the discussion of the upcoming deal between the United States and Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his American counterpart projects in this industry, including in new regions. For more information about what rare earth metals are, where they are mined, as well as about Russian reserves, see the Izvestia article.

Rare earth metals: What is this, a list

Rare earth elements (REES), or rare earth metals (REM), are a list consisting of 17 elements of the periodic table. These are scandium (number 21 in the table), yttrium (39) and 15 lanthanides with atomic numbers from 57 to 71: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium.

REES have a silvery-white color and a high reactivity. The only radioactive metal is promethium.

The REE was first discovered in the early 19th century. The definition of "rare earths" is due to the fact that it was previously believed that such metals are infrequently found in the Earth's crust. However, studies of the 20th century have refuted these data. It turned out that REM is even more widespread than gold, silver and platinum. However, the extraction of these metals is considered very expensive and difficult due to the low concentration of REE in the rock: the elements are highly dispersed over an area and do not occur in their pure form.

"A quarter of the world's reserves of rare earth metals are concentrated in Russia"

Scientist Sergey Kirillov talks about how the global market of these elements is organized and what place our country can take in it.

Where rare earth metals are used

REE began to be widely used in the XX–XXI centuries. They are used in most advanced industries, including mechanical engineering, chemical, oil and gas, and nuclear. REE is also actively used in the manufacture of lasers, night vision devices, batteries, optical lenses and screens.

Among other things, we can highlight:

— lanthanum and cerium. These metals play an important role as catalysts in the oil cracking process (the chemical process of refining hydrocarbons, as a result of which lighter products, such as gasoline and diesel, are obtained from heavy fractions);

— Yttrium. It is used in the production of ceramics;

— europium and terbium. They are used to produce phosphors, which are needed, in particular, for TV screens.;

— Neodymium. It is used to produce magnets, which are necessary for the production of wind power plants.

In fact, we are talking about almost all branches of the new technological order, which sets the dynamics of global progress, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in his speech.

Where do REE occur

Rare earth metals are generally evenly distributed below the Earth's surface, but due to expensive mining and extraction that is not very environmentally friendly, few countries are willing to deal with them.

In the middle of the last century, Brazil and India were the main sources of REM. After the 1950s, the initiative was taken over by the United States, which needed to extract cerium and other elements for the defense and oil sectors. In the 1980s, a new player appeared — China, which by the early 2000s began to occupy more than 80% of the global REE market.

In addition to the aforementioned countries, large reserves of rare earths are also found in Australia, Canada, Myanmar, Denmark (Greenland), South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and others.

Rare earth metals in Russia: mining, production, prospects

Russia ranks second in the world in terms of proven REM reserves. The total reserves of rare and rare earth metals in the country, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, amount to 658 million tons (this also includes lithium, cesium, zirconium, rubidium, beryllium, scandium, indium, gallium, germanium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, rhenium). The balance reserves of exactly 15 REM are 28.5 million tons.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the reserves of REM in Russia can provide current global consumption for more than 100 years. The largest deposit is Tomtor in Yakutia. At the same time, the only operating enterprise in Russia for the extraction of rare earth metals is Lovozersky GOK (mining and processing plant, located in the Murmansk region), owned by Rosatom. They extract and produce collective REM carbonates, in particular lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, and praseodymium.

Despite the large reserves, the potential is poorly realized. Back in 2013, Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, stated that Russia was 100% dependent on imported rare earth metals. In March last year, Dmitry Oleinik, adviser to the head of Rosnedra, said that Russia's share in global REM production does not exceed 1%. Recycling is practically non-existent.

The situation changed in 2025. In particular, on January 1, the national project "New Materials and Chemistry" was launched, which was included in the federal project "Development of the Rare and Rare Earth Metals Industry". Its goal is to develop the production of REM. Russian President Vladimir Putin also said in February this year that Russia should increase production of REM to match the dynamics of progress, and held a meeting on the development of this industry. As a result, foreign partners, including American ones, were invited to participate in projects for the extraction of REM.

On February 26, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that Russia is preparing to launch major investment projects in the field of REM in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, in Yakutia and other regions.

Thus, by 2030, it is planned to increase the production of products from REM to 50 thousand tons.