Rare earth metals are actually not as rare as their name might imply. They are critical to high-performance optics and lasers, and essential to the most powerful magnets and superconductors in the world.
Rare earths are simply more expensive to mine than most metals when not mined with environmentally harmful chemicals. These metals are also traditionally not as profitable in the markets. This has made them less desirable in the past—until the world realized that China controlled much of the market.
These difficulties, combined with the demand for the metals for use in high-tech applications, introduces economic and political complications that make some of the most interesting metals even more exciting for investors.
Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd (LON:RBW) is a mining company focussed on production from, and expansion of, the high grade Gakara Rare Earth Project in Burundi, East Africa. With in-situ grades in the range of 47-67% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO), Gakara is one of the world’s richest rare earth deposits.