1. China, which is the largest producer of these elements, has imposed some restrictions on their export.
2. Other than China, Australia, Canada and Chile, these elements are not found in any country.
3. Rare earth metals are essential for the manufacture of various kinds of electronic items and there is a growing demand for these elements.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: (c) 1 and 3
Solution:Rare earth metals are a group of 17 chemical elements found in the earth's crust that are vital to many modern technologies including consumer electronics, computers, networks, communications, clean energy, etc. All of the world's heavy rare earth come from Chinese rare earth sources. In 2010, China produced over 95% of the world's rare earth metals supply (According to USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2023 (data 2022) China produced about 70% rare earths). China has announced regulations on export and a crackdown on smuggling. Since these metals were easily available from China and its production causes serious trouble to environment. Thererfore, most of the countries stopped its production. According to Indian Minerals Year Book 2021, India have 6900000 thousands tonnes reserves of rare earth metals. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.
