Lists of rare-metals and rare-earths

Our entry in the industrial age has led to an increase in the use of metals to fuel the development of the industry and infrastructure. However, since these metals only available in limited quantities, their extraction and commercialization today have considerable geopolitical stakes.

 

Here are two books that we recommend to deepen your knowledge

and better understand the subject:

 

• The reference book on the subject was written by Mr David S. Abraham:

The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a Sustainable Future in the Rare Metal Age

 

• The second book is entitled: Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes

written by Julie Michelle Klinger

Essential for industrial development, these metals are categorized into three groups according to their importance:

 

 

1. Strategic metals

  

 

 

2. Rare-metals

   

 

 

3. Rare-earths

  

 

 

 

 

 

1. Strategic metals

Strategic metals are the founding stones of modern industry.
Their classification is based on their scarcity and supply. Unlike metals such as steel or aluminum, they are unevenly distributed on the surface of the globe and therefore potentially subject to supply risks. They can be precious or semi-precious.

 

In this list finds Gold and Silver, metals that are used to protect savings from economic risks:

stock market crash or currency inflation. Other common minerals are also listed as Copper, Lead or Zinc.

 

The value of these metals is intrinsically guaranteed by their industrial applications.

Since the dawn of the first civilizations, these materials are found in the form of jewels and ingots. These strategic metals have enabled the development of trade by constituting valuable reserves essential for the development of trade and the conservation of savings over time.

 

 

Strategic metals		Industrial uses
1	Gold	Store of value, luxury industry and advanced technologies.
2	Silver	Store of value, luxury industry, medicine (colloidal silver), water filtration.
3	Copper	Electric motor, electric industry, electronics, Building and transport.
4	Zinc	Galvanization of steels, alloys foundry
5	Lead	Electric battery, nuclear industry, metallurgy.

 

 

 

 

 

2- Rare-metals

 

There is no universal classification rare-metals.

We cannot establish an exhaustive list of these ores since it  depends on the scarcity factors taken into consideration: the quantity of metal available in the earth's crust, the level of demand, the industrial uses or even the recyclability potential.

Rare-earths (22) are rare-metals.

 

Rare-metals		Industrial uses
1	Cobalt	Smartphones, computers, magnets
2	Germanium	Photovoltaic, optical fiber
3	Beryllium	Telecom and electronics
4	Bismuth	Thermoelectric generator, superconductor
5	Borate	Glass and ceramics
6	Baryte	Glass industry, radiation protection
7	coke	Steel industry
8	Fluorite	Metallurgy, ceramics, optics
9	Gallium	Semiconductor, photoluminescent LED
10	Silicium métal	Photovoltaic panels
11	Platinium	Catalyst, jewelery
12	Magnésium	Aluminum alloy
13	Indium	Electronic chips
14	Graphite	Electric vehicle, nuclear industry
15	Niobium	Electric vehicle, satellite
16	Tantalum	Capacitors
17	Tungsten	Precision tools, shielding, electricity
18	Antimony	Mechanical industry, hardening additive
19	Palladium	Jewelry
20	Rhodium	Jewelry
21	Vanadium	Special steels, space industry
22	Rare-earth	Magnets, medical scanners, fiber optics, wind, lasers, electrical industry, electronics, space, aeronautics ...

 

 

 

 

3- Rare-earths

 

The rare earth family is made up of 17 metals.

These minerals have exceptional properties. They are ubiquitous in the advanced industry and new technologies.

They can be found in the manufacture of electronic components, in computers and smartphones but also in the batteries of electric vehicles (to name a few examples ...)

These rare-earths are an integral part of the new industrial revolution of green energies.

They are also used in the composition of super-magnets present in wind turbine turbines and photovoltaic panels.
There are two categories of rare-earth: light rare-earths and heavy rare-earths.

 

 

A) List of light rare-earth

 

Light rare-earths		Industrial uses
1	Praseodymium	Dye, magnets
2	Neodymium	Magnets, lasers
3	Promethium	Luminescent compounds
4	Samarium	Electric motor, missile magnets
5	Cerium	Catalytic pots
6	Scandium	Lighting
7	Lanthanum	Lenses, superconducting compounds

 

 

 

B) List of heavy rare-earth

 

Heavy rare-earths		Industrial uses
8	Europium	Nuclear reactors, lighting, geochemistry
9	Gadolinium	Cathode ray tubes
10	Terbium	Permanent magnets
11	Dysprosium	Hybrid engines, magnets
12	Holmium	Lasers, superconductors
13	Erbium	Nuclear medicine, optics
14	Thulium	X-ray, laser, superconductor
15	Ytterbium	Stainless steels
17	Lutecium	Beta radiation emitter
18	Yttrium	Fuel cells, magnets, alloy, superconductor

 

 

 

4. Questions / answers about rare-earth and stategic metals

 

 

A) Heavy rare-earths and light rare-earths: what are the differences?

 

There is no official classification for distinguishing heavy rare-earths from light rare earths.

Generally, the distinction is made by the atomic number: the higher the number, the heavier the element. Concentration explains the fact that light rare-earths are produced in higher quantities because they are more abundant in the deposits.

Conversely, heavy rare-earths are more complex and more expensive to extract.
They are used in technological products with higher added value. Their properties make these minerals critical for our companies, especially those that improve the performance of magnets.

 

Useful information: An offshore wind turbine with up to 7 MW of power
alone requires more than a ton of rare-earths.

 

B) Why the name of rare-earth?

 

Rare earths are called this because their extraction is very complex.
However, contrary to what one might think, they are relatively abundant elements in the earth's crust.

 

C) Can we buy rare-earths?

 

Rare-earth ingots are difficult to obtain for several reasons:

 

1. The storage conditions are complex;
2. It's hard to sell them. These metals are destined for hyper-specialized industries and scattered throughout the world;
3. These metals are often very dangerous for health (carcinogenic dust, radioactivity ...);
4. Getting bullion directly is almost impossible. For many reasons, the investor has to go through an intermediary business and pay a high fee for storage. This state of affairs multiplies the risks. Indeed companies can go bankrupt and take with them the assets of their customers.

Unlike rare-earths and rare-metals, bars of strategic raw materials (Copper / Lead / Zinc) or investment jewels are suitable for storage and resale. They allow the value of capital to be conserved over time. In fact, savings invested in strategic commodities are protected from inflation as well as financial and political crises.

For more security and to protect your anonymity, it is even possible to buy bullion directly with Bitcoin!

 

You can request a quote for bullion or investment jewelry

directly via our protonmail address: lingotswiss@protonmail.ch