They're a row of elements on the periodic table (lanthanides) which have a broad range of industrial uses (see the wiki). It is a misnomer, as many of them are

They're a row of elements on the periodic table (lanthanides) which have a broad range of industrial uses (see the wiki). It is a misnomer, as many of them aren't particularly rare. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanthanide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanthanide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element They occur all over the world. The US was once the leading producer, but (IMHO unreasonable) regulation forced its mines to close (they were in California). Currently China produces virtually all of them (97%-99%). There's a geopolitical stink about their protectionism: they're restricting exports, which (to my understanding) means they're intervening in favor of Chinese rare-earth consuming manufacturers (e.g. electronics industries). There's also human issues, in that the mines are a major pollution source and health hazard, and many (NYT estimates half) are operated illegally by crime syndicates. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs087-02/ http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs087-02/ http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-china-rareearth-idUSTRE72L10I20110322 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-china-rareearth... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-china-rareearth-eu-idUSTRE76D3Q620110714 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-china-rareearth... http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2010/09/rare-earth_metals http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2010/09/rare-earth_me... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/business/global/30smuggle.html?pagewanted=all http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/30/business/global/30smuggle....