BGS Risk List (1)

Happy New Year everybody!! We have finally reached the end of our countdown of the BGS’ most at risk elements on Earth. Last week saw tungsten coming in in 2^nd place, and I can now reveal that the number one spot goes to…..the rare earth elements! Thank you for supporting the countdown and taking the time to read it.

The REEs, circled in red.

RANKING:

1

ELEMENT NAME AND SYMBOL:

Rare Earth Elements (REE)

RELATIVE SUPPLY RISK INDEX:

9.5

WHY?:

The rare earth elements are a group of 17 metals that (surprisingly) are actually quite abundant in the Earth’s crust! However they are very well dispersed, and actual economically viable ores of them are rare, meaning mining them is a very tricky business. Add to that the fact that China has quite a monopoly of supplies (and is reducing its export quota dramatically by 2015) and you can see why they are so very at risk. It is not all doom and gloom however, electronic devices contain many rare earth elements, and the increasingly effective recycling of these gadgets will be able to recover some of the valuable metals.

LEADING PRODUCER:

China

TOP RESERVE HOLDER:

China

WHY THE DEMAND?:

REEs are a large group of elements and have an equally wide set of uses. They are predominantly used in electronics. For example: magnets in hard-drives, camera and telescope lenses, use in television screens and catalytic converters in cars.