UPSC   |   11 month(s) ago

Rare Earth Elements



Recently, large deposits of 15 rare earth elements were found in the Anantapur district

of Andhra Pradesh.


REEs are 17 metallic elements in the periodic table.


These metals have high thermal conductance,high density, high melting point and high conductivity.


They occur abundantly but do not occur in a free state.


They are found in mineral oxide ores  but are not concentrated enough for proper extraction.


They are used in: aerospace and defense, health care, clean energy, nuclear energy, electronics,chemicals, oil refining, and manufacturing.


India has the 5th highest reserves of rare earth elements in the world yet it is import dependent for most of the elements.