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Articles on Rare earth elements

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Afghanistan has mineral resources that include precious gems and minerals such as copper and rare earth elements. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Afghanistan has vast mineral wealth but faces steep challenges to tap it

Afghanistan has vast mineral resources that have long attracted interest from outside countries, but a lack of infrastructure and political instability means they’re unlikely to aid its economy now.
It turns out that the world is about 4,600,000,000 years old. That’s 4.6 billion years. That’s pretty old! Marcella Cheng/The Conversation

Curious Kids: How do scientists work out how old the Earth is?

The world is made of tiny building blocks called ‘elements’. Scientists have worked out how fast some elements change into other elements. That gives us a very big clue about how old the Earth is.
Amid global demand for rare earth minerals, there has been a strong interest in deep sea mining. Flickr\gnews

Is the next mining boom on the ocean floor?

Defence behemoth Lockheed Martin’s recent announcement of a venture into deep sea mining (DSM) reflects growing interest in exploiting virgin mining territory. In what is being described by some as a “deep…
Four times Australia’s GDP could be hiding in here. AAP

Will rare earth elements power our clean energy future?

Rare earth elements (REEs), for so long ignored by big mining companies, have recently become incredibly popular. But, contrary to what their names suggests, they are not particularly rare. They do, however…

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