Metal Tech News - The Elements of Innovation Discovered

Peggy Greb, U.S. Department of Agriculture

While the Mountain Pass Mine in California produces appreciable amounts of rare earths, the U.S. currently does not have the processing facilities needed to process the concentrates produced there and separate out the individual rare earth oxides. Clockwise from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium.