Rare earth minerals are a group of seventeen chemical elements that share unique properties making them vital components in a wide range of modern technologies. Despite the name, these elements are not particularly rare in the Earth’s crust, but they are often found in dispersed and complex geological formations, making their extraction challenging. These elements are essential in various industrial applications due to their magnetic, luminescent, and catalytic properties.
The group of rare earth minerals consists of the following elements:
- Lanthanides:
– Cerium (Ce)
– Praseodymium (Pr)
– Neodymium (Nd)
– Promethium (Pm) – radioactive and rare
– Samarium (Sm)
– Europium (Eu)
– Gadolinium (Gd)
– Terbium (Tb)
– Dysprosium (Dy)
– Holmium (Ho)
– Erbium (Er)
– Thulium (Tm)
– Ytterbium (Yb)
– Lutetium (Lu)
Pensana plc (LON:PRE) explores and mines neodymium, praseodymium, and rare earth minerals. The Company’s flagship assets are the Saltend rare earth refinery project in the United Kingdom and Longonjo neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) Project in Angola.
