Illustration redesigned by Devin Thorpe
During World War II, REEs came from Brazil and India. But the U.S. wanted its own source, and the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine became its critical source from the 1960s to the 1980s. In the 90s, Chinese companies bought up most of the production and moved it offshore. Ninety-seven percent of rare earth elements are now mined in China. Due to lax environmental regulations, producers can extract and refine REEs there very cheaply. However, because of the geopolitical implications of China’s control over such a critical resource, new mines will soon open in Australia and Brazil, among other places.
Rare earth elements used to appear fairly close to the surface of the Earth, but humans have increasingly mined out accessible areas. As REEs become harder to extract, there is even discussion about mining them from the ocean floor. But for now, REEs come from open-pit mines. Extractors process them chemically, which usually involves an acid bath meant to separate the elements within the ore. Where this acid goes afterward depends on local environmental regulations…or lack thereof.