i.e. a total of 17 elements:
as well as the 14 elements following lanthanum:
The group’s name stems from the time when these elements were discovered: They were first found in rare minerals and were extracted from these as oxides (previously called "earths").
Today, lanthanum and other rare earth metals are washed out of boreholes with the aid of acids – an expensive production method. China extracts the largest quantity of these precious mineral resources (120,000 metric tons per year), followed by India. Other potential mining areas are in Greenland and Canada, but they have not yet been tapped. For years, the Chinese have controlled their exports to the world market, partly in order to keep the production of key technologies in their own country in the long term.
This dominant position underscores the critical importance of GTS’s steady and reliable contacts in China.
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