minerals for missiles or minerals for a moment of peace, not just any minerals, rare earth minerals,

what they are and how these minerals tie back to the war between Russia and Ukraine. Let's talk about it.

I'm Jenna and this is smarter news.

Well, let's start real basic because that's where I had to start my reporting.

When we hear a reference to rare earth minerals, what is everyone even talking about?

For one, sometimes these minerals are referred to in short as rare earths, or more broadly,

as rare earth elements.

You likely have a rare earth element in your hand, maybe even right now, or do so on a regular basis. We use rare earth elements. You likely have a rare earth element in your hand, maybe even right now,

or do so on a regular basis. We use rare earths in cell phones, in our computers and electric cars,

flat screen TVs, and also in more advanced defense products like radar, for example.

And although you may recognize names like lithium or nickel, when we're talking about these

products, these are not talking about these products,

these are not considered rare earth minerals, although they can be referenced at the same time.

We're going to talk about that in a second. The rare earth minerals are names that are going to be

less familiar. I'm going to try my best with this one. Neodemium. Neodemium. It just sort of

rolls off the tongue, but it's not something I've ever said before.

Finding a lot of these usable, large concentrations of rare earth minerals is exactly as it sounds.

It's rare. And finding them and then mining them really matter. Sometimes there's a difference

in finding the minerals, you know, discovering them, and then being able to actually extract them,

you know, get them out of the ground and high enough concentrates to actually use them.

Where are these rare earth minerals found?

Really all over the world.

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