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Rare earth elements are special types of metal that are hidden
inside the earth's crust.
There are 17 of them in total--materials with
tricky names like neodymium, europium, and lanthanaum.
Primarily,
they're used to help produce all manner of electronic devices.
They
make phone screens show brilliant colors, polish glass surfaces
crystal clear, and even turn electricity into sound.
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Though they are often called rare, this is only because it is
difficult and costly to separate them from rocks and other matter.
Many such metals are, overall, actually quite common.
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Mining these elements begins with a dig that quickly moves
deep underground.
There, machines scoop up tons of raw dirt
and rock.
Because the valuable metal is mixed in with rock and soil
in tiny quantities, huge amounts of earth must be dug up to get
even a little bit of metal.
An entire hillside might be crushed just
to collect a few buckets of a particular metal--like cerium.
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Of course, the hardest part of rare earth mining happens after
the material is taken out of the ground.
Specialized factories, called
refineries, grind the solid rock into fine powder and mix it with
strong chemical liquids.
This helps to wash away regular stone and
untangle different metals from one another.
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With rare earth mining deploying huge diggers and harsh
chemicals, it can leave a substatially negative impact on nature.
If
mines are not carefully managed, leftover muddy wastewater can
pollute nearby soil, river water, and underground aquifers.
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Today, engineers are developing much cleaner, safer mining
methods to protect surrounding plants and wildlife.
This is critical,
as our need for these useful metals is only increasing every year.
It must be possible to gather the rare elements we require to run
our technology, while keeping our planet healthy.
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