The battery in a single Toyota Prius contains more than 20 pounds of the rare earth element lanthanum; the magnet in a large wind turbine may contain 500 pounds or more of neodymium. The U.S. military needs rare earths for night-vision goggles, cruise missiles, and other weapons.
These metals are very rare, but have unique properties which make them necessary for unique products. There is only about 185,000 tons of rare earth metals procured each year. And, China has 60% of the market. The US has only about 13% of the resources.
- Could be the next "oil" as these metals are scare and in limited quantity.