Alexander C. Kaufman pfp
Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
Reminder that rare earths aren’t rare. Processing capacity is rare.
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Andrei O. pfp
Andrei O.
@andrei0x309
I think there's a big difference between heavy and light rare Earth's deposits. For context: Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREEs): These are generally less abundant than light rare earth elements (LREEs). Economically viable deposits of some HREEs are particularly limited to a few regions. Historically, China has been a dominant producer of HREEs, especially the ion-adsorption clay deposits in Southern China, which are a significant source for elements like dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium. While other deposits exist globally, these specific clay deposits are unique in their ease of extraction for certain HREEs. So the reality is that China does have some unique deposits of which viable exploitation elsewhere is close to impossible.
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