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Robotbeat | 1 month ago

Lithium is not a rare earth mineral. Huge pet peeve. This is a technical term. It’s also not particularly rare.

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wolvoleo|1 month ago

Rate earth minerals aren't necessarily rare, it means that you have to move a huge amount of earth to get a tiny bit of ore. That's still true for lithium and its mining pretty polluting too. And it's limited to specific regions globally.

Our sea is full of sodium however.

Robotbeat|24 days ago

No, “rare earth minerals” are referring to an exact section of the periodic table, referring to exactly 17 elements, like “lanthanide series” or “noble gases”. It is a technical term, not a descriptive one. Lithium is not in the list.

You’re also wrong about lithium’s availability, but that’s another story.

didgeoridoo|1 month ago

“Rare” as in “rarified”, not “uncommon”.