Rare earth elements (rees), which comprise of only 17 elements from the entire periodic table, play a critical role to our national security, energy independence, environmental future, and economic growth. Rees are commonly divided into light rare earth elements (lrees) and heavy rare earth elements (hrees) based on their atomic weight and mineral associations. The rare earth elements (ree) comprise a group of 16 chemically very similar elements that occur widespread in rocks, soils, and water bodies, share similar ionic radii to the essential element ca2+, …

The rare-earth elements (ree), also called rare-earth metals, or rare earths, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. Rare earth elements (ree) are becoming increasingly important in electronic devices used in the defense, alternative energy, and communications industries. Minable deposits of rees are found in …