A quick chemistry lesson: The rare earth elements (REE) are seventeen metallic elements, which are categorised into Light Rare Earths (lanthanum to samarium) and Heavy Rare Earths (europium to lutetium). Rare-earth elements (REE) are necessary for more than 200 products across various applications, especially high-tech consumer products, such as mobile phones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, flat-screen monitors and televisions. The REE market is valued at $US6.0 bn in 2024 and is projected to increase to $US10.9 bn by 2029.