Rare-earth elements are a set of metallic elements in the periodic table. Chemists usually refer to a group of 17 elements when they use this label: the 15 lanthanides from lanthanum to lutetium, and scandium and yttrium. In most classroom periodic tables, the lanthanides are shown as a separate row placed beneath the main periodic table. Scandium and yttrium lie in the main table, in Group 3, above and near the transition metals.

Even when they’re not very scarce in the earth’s crust, they tend to be spread out in low concentrations and mixed together with each other in the same minerals, so they’re difficult and expensive to separate. However, countries worldwide are interested in acquiring them because they’re crucial for high-performance magnets, specialised lighting and optics, catalysts, and other components that underpin many green technologies and electronics.

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