Rare Earth News

Rare earth metals expected to stay hot

While gold has seen major increases recently, rare earth elements have proven to be some of the hottest commodities in the last year. But the difference between gold and REEs is the role they play in our everyday lives, which is likely to keep prices and demand high, Wealth Daily reports.

The elements are used in a wide array of products, but have recently been noticed for their role in causing compact fluorescent light bulb prices to shoot up nearly 40 percent in 2011, with prices only expected to increase.

By nationalizing dozens of rare earths producers and imposing export caps and quotas, China, which is the world's leader in rare earth mining, has sent the cost of these necessary items - as well as many other green tech devices - soaring.

Wealth Daily suggests that while investing in individual light bulb companies may be profitable in the long term, investing in rare earth mining companies that are operating in North America and supply the raw material for the bulb makers would be a wiser choice.

Many are choosing to invest in mining operations taking place in Quebec, as geochemical anomalies in yttrium, lanthanum and samarium have recently been discovered.