Rare Earth Elements in National Defense: Background, Oversight Issues, and Options for Congress: Congressional Research Service, April 25, 2012 - Softcover

Bailey Grasso, Specialist In Defense Acquisition, Valerie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1477573011 ISBN 13: 9781477573013

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012

Synopsis

This report discusses rare earth elements used in Department of Defense (DOD) weapon systems, current problematic oversight issues, and options for Congress to consider to address these issues. Rare earth elements (also referred to by the shorthand term “rare earths”) include the lanthanide series of 15 elements on the periodic table, beginning with atomic number 57 (lanthanum) and extending through element number 71 (lutetium). Two other elements, yttrium and scandium, often occur in the same rare earth deposits and possess similar properties. These 17 elements are referred to as “rare” because while they are relatively abundant in quantity, they appear in low concentrations in the earth’s crust and economic extraction and processing is both difficult and costly.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1477573011
• ISBN 13: 9781477573013
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 34