Why rare earths matter

FROM EVS TO MISSILES: SA'S DEPOSITS COULD SHIFT BALANCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL DOMINANCE

- Ina Opperman

With the volatile geopolitics the world currently experiences, there is often talk about access to rare earth elements as much as there is talk about who has access to the most oil reserves.

Why are these rare earth elements so important and does South Africa have any that could make it a target?

South Africa has two mines where rare earth elements are produced: Steenkampskraal Mozanite Mine, located 350km north of Cape Town and Rainbow Rare Earths in Phalaborwa.

We asked Graham Soden, director, CEO and mine manager of Steenkampskraal, what makes these elements so rare if they are not particularly rare in the earth's crust.

Soden said when rare earth elements were first discovered between the late 1700s and mid-1800s, they were found in unusual, “rare” minerals that were not common to miners and chemists of the time.