The quest for rare earths that are vital to some of modern life’s most indispensable technologies may see mining robots jet to the stars within decades, a world-first conference in Australia was told on Wednesday. Yttrium, Lanthanum and the other 15 minerals which make up the group of elements known as rare earths are crucial to everything from wind turbines and hybrid cars to cruise missiles and smartphone.
As technology advances so does demand for the elements which, although relatively abundant, require laborious and waste-intensive processing to be freed from surrounding rock.
Source: The Times of India