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Articles on Rare earths

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While people may be familiar with precious metals, which are often at the heart of conflicts, there are also metals that are essential to good health. (Shutterstock)

Rare metals play a strategic and essential role in health

Iron fights anemia. Bismuth relieves gastric problems. Lithium acts against depression and gold can treat rheumatoid arthritis. Metals are precious tools for good health.
Protestors against Lynas mine processing in Malaysia Peter Boyle

Rare earths and our insatiable appetite for digital memory

This week a dozen protesters travelled from Malaysia to Australia to protest outside the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Lynas Corporation, an Australian rare earth mining company, for the third year running…
Not just a pretty planet – Jupiter may provide clues for detecting Earth-like planets. NASA

By Jove! Can climate change lead us to life on other planets?

Thanks to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, we’ve recently heard a great deal about how the Earth’s climate is changing. The IPCC’s cautious assessment of the…
Mining for rare earth elements is taking China down the track to environmental degradation. Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)/Flickr

Has the western world exported cancer to China?

Environmental pollution is currently a white-hot topic in China, but what if western consumers are driving the issue? A storm of activity recently occurred on Sina Weibo, triggered by reports that industries…
Malaysians are unconvinced Lynas’ rare earth factory will deal properly with radioactive waste. EPA/Ahmad Yusni

Should Malaysia bear the burden of Australian radioactive waste?

The radioactive waste generated by an Australian-owned rare earth extraction factory in Malaysia has generated a firestorm of controversy. The factory - the world’s largest - is owned by Lynas Corporation…

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