because it is very unusual to find them in a pure form, and they are very hazardous to extract. Although you may not be familiar with the names of these rare earths - like Neodymium, Yttrium and Europium - you will be very familiar with the products that they are used in. For instance, Neodymium is used to make the powerful magnets used in loudspeakers, computer hard drives, EV motors and jet engines that enable them to be smaller and more efficient.

Yttrium and Europium are used to manufacture television and computer screens because of the way they display colours. "Everything you can switch on or off likely runs on rare earths," explains Thomas Kruemmer, Director of Ginger International Trade and Investment. Rare earths are also critical to the production of medical technology like laser surgery and MRI scans, as well as key defence technologies. (BBC)