List of 17 rare earth uses

List of 17 rare earth uses
A common metaphor is that if oil is the blood of industry, rare earth is the vitamin of industry.
Rare earth is the abbreviation of a group of metals, including 17 elements such as lanthanum, cerium and praseodymium in the periodic table of chemical elements. It has been widely used in many fields such as electronics, petrochemical and metallurgy. Almost every 3-5 years, scientists can discover new uses of rare earth, and one of every six inventions can not be separated from rare earth.
China is rich in rare earth minerals, ranking first in the world in terms of reserves, production scale and export volume. At the same time, China is also the only country that can provide all 17 kinds of rare earth metals, especially the medium and heavy rare earth metals with extremely prominent military uses. China's share is enviable.
Rare earth is a valuable strategic resource, known as "industrial monosodium glutamate" and "mother of new materials", and widely used in cutting-edge science and technology and military industry. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, functional materials such as rare earth permanent magnets, luminescence, hydrogen storage and catalysis have become indispensable raw materials for advanced equipment manufacturing, new energy, emerging industries and other high-tech industries. They are also widely used in electronics, petrochemical, metallurgy, machinery, new energy, light industry, environmental protection, agriculture, etc..
As early as 1983, Japan introduced a strategic reserve system for rare minerals, and 83% of its rare earths come from China. It is worth mentioning that there were media reports that Japan did not rush to use the rare earth after purchasing a large amount of rare earth, but stored it on the seabed to meet the future energy needs.
Looking at the United States, its rare earth reserves are second only to those of China, but since 1999, it has gradually stopped mining its rare earth resources by means of sealing up and other means, and has instead imported a large number of rare earth resources from China.
Comrade Deng Xiaoping once said, "There is oil in the Middle East and rare earth in China." The implication of his words is self-evident. Rare earth is not only the necessary "monosodium glutamate" for 1/5 of the world's high-tech products, but also a powerful bottom card for China at the world negotiation table in the future. In recent years, many people with lofty ideals have called for a national strategy to protect and make scientific use of rare earth resources and not allow precious rare earth resources to be sold blindly and cheaply to western countries. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping made clear the position of China as a rare earth power. 97% of the global supply of rare earth comes from China, and the West is worried about over-reliance on China's rare earth resources. However, rare earth is China's resource, and China has the right to dispose of it without caring about the dissatisfaction of Europe and the United States.