Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Harking.

The title of today's lesson is "Rare Earth Materials." It's taken from the unit "Natural Resources: Can Earth Meet Our Needs?" We will explore the materials inside our tech products that are needed for them to work.

I hope you enjoy learning with me today.

Let's get started.

Today's outcome is to describe what rare earth materials are and explain the challenges they create and the potential solutions.

Here are some words we're going to be using in today's lesson.

Firstly, rare earth materials.

These are a group of 17 metallic elements that are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine.

Sometimes you may hear them called rare earth elements or REE for short.

Reserves.

These are the remaining extractable amounts of resources, such as minerals or energy sources.

Heavy metals.

These are metallic elements with high density, atomic weights, or atomic number.

Many are known for their toxicity.

Our lesson is in three parts.

Firstly, what are rare earth materials? Then, what challenges do they create? And what does the future hold? So let's start with: What are rare earth materials? Rare earth materials are a group of 17 metallic elements that are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine.

Here, you can see, taken from the periodic table, these are the elements that we're talking about.

I'm going to show you an example of terbium.

This is what it looks like.

Most of these look fairly similar.

They look shiny and metallic.

Despite their name, rare earth materials are not always rare in quantity.

They are, however, rarely found in concentrated deposits that can be mined economically.

So most of the time, they're spread out to such an extent that it's quite hard to extract them from the ground.

So there's only a few places where actually there's enough of these elements in a concentrated amount.

There's enough in the ground, close together, so that if we dig into the ground, we can extract them without spending stupid amounts of money.

Here on the left-hand side, we can see the rare earth reserves in 2023.

This is a choropleth map.

So the darker colours show us where there is the highest concentration of rare earth materials.

This map is shaded by country, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole country is full of rare earth materials, but that that country contains that amount of rare earth materials in economically viable locations.

So we can see at the bottom here that the darkest green shows over 30 million tonnes of rare earth materials in that country.

True or false? Rare earth materials are rare.

It's false.

Why is that? Yes.

So, despite their name, rare earth materials are not actually rare.

They are, however, rarely found in concentrated deposits that can be mined economically.

Do you know what's in a smartphone? Here's an image of a smartphone that's been broken down, and we're going to take a look at some of the rare earth materials that are inside.

Firstly, we've got lanthanum, which improves camera lens clarity and durability.

Terbium and europium are used in screens for vibrant display colour.

Neodymium is used in powerful magnets for speakers and microphones.

Dysprosium is added to neodymium magnets in order to improve heat resistance for safety.

And finally, we've got here gadolinium, which enhances signal reception.

Now, there are other rare earth elements that might appear in smartphones as well.

We've just selected a few of the most common ones to look at here.

It's not just smartphones that require rare earth materials.

They're also required for many other technologies and processes, such as: Laptops, electric motors, electric vehicles, oil refining, MRI contrast agent, night vision, and wind turbines.

So there's lots and lots of uses for rare earth materials, some of which are extremely important or extremely common, and therefore it's really essential that we can access these rare earth materials.

Time for a check for understanding.

Can you name the country with the greatest rare earth reserves? Have a look at the map.

Is it A, USA; B, China; C, Brazil; or D, Australia? I'm going to add some lines just in case you don't know where the countries are.

Yes.

So China, B, is the country with the greatest rare earth reserves.

Time for our task now.

Can you correct each statement? Number one: Rare earth materials are easy to extract and refine.

Number two: rare earth materials are rare.

Number three: Rare earth materials are only used in smartphones.

Try to edit these to correct them, but also add as much detail as you can.

Pause the video now to give yourself time to do the task.

Well done, everyone.

Let's take a look at some answers.

So for each, you may have something that looks like this.

For question one: Rare earth materials are challenging to extract and refine, not "easy." You may have used a different word, and that's fine as long as it has the same meaning.

Question two: Rare earth materials are not actually rare in quantity.

So make sure that you are saying they're not rare.

There is a lot of them out there in the world.

However, they are rarely found in concentrated deposits that can be mined economically.

So often it would cost far too much to get them out of the Earth.

It's only in a few places that they are concentrated enough for us to be able to afford to get them out.

Question three: Rare earth materials are used in many technologies and processes, such as smartphones, laptops, oil refining, night vision goggles, MRI contrast agents, wind turbines, and electric motors.

Have you got all of that down? I'm sure you didn't get all of them.

Add some if you needed to.

Now we're on to the second part of our lesson: What challenges do they create? Mining for rare earth materials creates many challenges, both for the environment and for society.

We're going to start with environmental consequences.

The majority of rare earth materials are sourced using open-pit mining.

This involves removing layers of soil to access rock beneath, creating an open pit.

This can lead to deforestation, meaning habitat is lost and reducing biodiversity.

We can see that happening in the open pit on the left-hand side, where the area has been forested, and in order to create the open-pit mine, trees have been felled, meaning that we've got a loss of biodiversity in that area.

Extracting just one tonne of rare earth materials can produce up to 2,000 tonnes of toxic waste, so 2,000 times the amount that you're removing.

Soil and rivers can become contaminated with heavy metal particles from the mines.

The refining process also creates air pollution, contributing to smog.

So these heavy metals can end up in the soil, in the water supply, they can end up in the air, all of which could be really damaging for the local environment.

Time for a check for understanding.

Which best describes open-pit mining? Is it A, a shaft is dug down into the rock, then miners dig in tunnels? B, many small holes are dug into the soil? Or C, a large, wide hole is dug through the soil and down into the rock? Yes, well done.

So it's C, a large, wide hole is dug through the soil down into the rock.

Now we're going to address the social concerns.

Mining operations often displace indigenous and rural communities, disrupting livelihoods and cultural ties to the land.

So displacing people literally means if the mine is happening there, then the people who are living there or using that land might then need to move to another area.

That could happen because they literally live or work on that land and they can't anymore, or it could happen because of the environmental consequences in the area mean it's not safe to live there.

Countries with low environmental governance bear the brunt of pollution, while wealthier nations benefit from the rare earth material-powered tech.

So there's definitely some social inequality going on here.

Inadequate disposal of waste leads to radioactive particles, heavy metals, and other contaminants entering the human body, causing long-term health risks.

Workers and local communities are at risk of respiratory illnesses, so that's anything to do with your breathing, reproductive, and heart issues.

Bayan Obo mine in China is the world's largest rare earth material deposit, and it is expanding, as we can see using GIS here.

I have located where the mine is on the globe on the left, and we can see that there are two images.

The first image we see is from 2014, and then the second image we see is from 2022.

We can see in the circle that it looks like the mine has doubled or even more in size during this timeframe.

The surrounding region around the mine has suffered severe environmental degradation.

Toxic lakes form from the wastewater discharge, and they contain chemicals used in the processing.

You can see these areas in black where we've got the tailing ponds on the satellite image.

No fish or algae survive there, and nearby farms have been abandoned due to soil contamination.

Residents report aching limbs, diabetes, osteoporosis, which is a bone disease, and respiratory issues, with higher rare earths found in blood and hair samples.

Time for a check for understanding now.

Jacob says, "It is impossible for metals to go inside somebody's body." Is that true or false? Yes, it's false.

Why is it false? What evidence do we have that suggests this can happen? Yes, inadequate disposal of waste leads to heavy metals and other contaminants entering the human body, causing long-term health risks.

Residents nearby Bayan Obo mine were found to have higher rare earth levels in their blood and hair.

Task time now.

Can you create a spider diagram to show the knock-on consequences of mining for rare earth materials? I've created an example at the bottom of this slide, and you can see that one leg of the spider diagram is already completed.

So, open-pit mining leads to deforestation, which leads to habitat loss, which leads to biodiversity reducing.

I've then started two other legs that I would like you to complete.

So, displace indigenous and rural communities and toxic waste.

Pause the video now to give yourself time to do the task.

Well done, everyone.

Let's take a look at some answers.

Your answer may look like this.

For displace indigenous and rural communities, we could say that a knock-on consequence is disrupting livelihoods and cultural ties to the land.

For toxic waste, we could say a knock-on consequence would be the soil, rivers, and air being contaminated.

This then leads to radioactive particles, heavy metals, and other contaminants entering the human body.

This can lead to a risk of respiratory illnesses, reproductive and heart issues.

How did you get on? Is there anything you'd like to steal from here? You may have got something that I didn't include on here as well.

Well done.

Right, let's move on to the second part of our lesson: What does the future hold? People around the world are researching, inventing, and innovating to try to improve the future of rare earth materials.

We're going to hear from them now.

"I work developing technologies to improve recycling rates for rare earth materials from electronics, magnets, and batteries.

Currently, less than 1% are recycled.

This would reduce the need for mining." Time for a check for understanding.

True or false? Currently, the majority of electronics are recycled, and rare earth materials are recovered.

Is this true or false? It's false.

Can you tell me why? What evidence do we have to prove that it is false? Yes.

So, currently, less than 1% are recycled.

Here we have somebody who works for a mining company to improve sustainability by introducing circular mineral harvesting.

"We will recycle nearly all of the water and chemicals we use, as well as reforest areas that are no longer being mined." "I am attempting to develop synthetic materials that mimic rare-earth material properties, such as magnetic strength and conductivity.

That way, we could stop mining for them." So this is another method that looks at reducing mining, and we've also had a method that looks at trying to limit the impact of the mining.

"I develop smartphones that can be fixed rather than replaced, and I ensure all component parts can be recycled easily." So again, this career choice is actually working towards reducing the need for so much mining.

So, these people have chosen four different career paths, which have all helped to reduce the demand for rare earth materials or to reduce the impacts that actually extracting those materials will have.

Time for a check for understanding now.

Which of the following can help to reduce the detrimental consequences of rare earth material mining? Is it A, improving recycling rates for rare earth materials? B, circular mineral harvesting? C, synthetic materials that mimic rare earth materials? Or D, technology that can be fixed and recycled easily? Yes, well done.

It is all of them, isn't it? All of these different career paths are actually helping to solve the problem of rare earth materials.

Time for task C.

Can you suggest some of the activities a government could fund in order to reduce the negative impacts of rare earth material mining? Your answer should include at least three suggestions and an explanation as to how each reduces the impacts.

So, governments do fund lots of projects in order to try and reduce environmental and social problems in their country or around the world.

So, by suggesting what they should be focusing on, we can help influence political economic decision-making.

Pause the video now to give yourself time to do the task.

Well done, everyone.

Let's take a look at some answers.

The question was: Suggest how the government should invest a fund designed to reduce the negative impacts of rare earth material mining.

Your answer may include: Provide grants to mines to introduce circular mineral harvesting.

So, this would be the government giving mining companies some money that they have to spend on circular mineral harvesting.

This will mean that water and chemicals will be recycled, and areas that are no longer being mined will be reforested.

Invest in developing new technologies to improve recycling rates for rare earth materials from electronics, magnets, and batteries.

Currently, less than 1% are recycled.

Similarly, investing in developing synthetic materials that mimic rare earth material properties, such as magnetic strength and conductivity, would reduce the need for mining.

How did you get on? Is there anything you can add from here? Potentially, that fact, using the evidence, would be really nice; currently, less than 1% are recycled.

Well done.

I'm sure you've got something that I haven't included as well, and that's brilliant.

Time for our summary now.

Rare earth materials are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine.

Open-pit mining can lead to deforestation, habitats, and biodiversity loss.

Extracting just one tonne of rare earth materials can produce up to 2,000 tonnes of toxic waste.

Communities near mines are at risk of respiratory illnesses, reproductive, and heart issues.

Bayan Obo mine in China is the world's largest rare earth material deposit.

Finally, solutions to the negative impacts of mining rare earth materials include introducing circular mineral harvesting, developing new technologies to improve recycling rates, and synthetic materials.

Thank you for learning with me today.

I hope you enjoyed.

Goodbye.