[Mick]

Hate to do this, but rare earth metals are not especially rare.

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/mining...-elements/

The problem is that they are typically not concentrated nor easy to extract, but the “rare” earths are pretty widely distributed in the Earth’s crust.

BC

Yup.  Cerium is actually the 25th most common element, about the same as copper.  But it doesn't appear in concentrated clusters suitable for mining very often.

[Mick]

Hate to do this, but rare earth metals are not especially rare.

https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/mining...-elements/

The problem is that they are typically not concentrated nor easy to extract, but the “rare” earths are pretty widely distributed in the Earth’s crust.

BC

Yup.  Cerium is actually the 25th most common element, about the same as copper.  But it doesn't appear in concentrated clusters suitable for mining very often.