# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
You've heard about the rumored sapphire screens that didn't show up on the final iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus designs, and by now you know that Pay is a key part of the pitch for the next generation Apple smartphone, but there's also a decent amount of real gold and silver in each iPhone as well.

The American Chemical Society and UK chemistry teacher Andy Brunning broke down the actual elements that go into the production of each iPhone and reveal that rather than use sapphire, Apple turned to potassium to create its "ion-strengthened glass" screen -- bathing the glass in the element is what creates the stronger glass.

But to make that glass actually function as a touch screen, three other elements are needed -- indium, tin and oxygen. Indium oxide and tin oxide are combined to create indium tin oxide, which then goes into the transparent film in the screen that conducts electricity and makes it responsive to all those taps and swipes.

You'll find nickel in the phone's microphone, tin and lead at the solder points, and silicon in its microchips. Of course, silicon doesn't conduct electricity unless it gets "doped" with other elements, including things like arsenic, phosphorus, antimony or boron. Outside, you might find aluminum or magnesium alloys making up your phone's housing, but if it's plastic it might have a flame retardant compound that includes bromine.

Not surprisingly, there's plenty of copper, gold and silver in the wiring and components of the iPhone and other smartphones -- the ACS reports that a typical smartphone contains about 300 milligrams of silver and 30 milligrams of gold. But you may also find other quite rare elements in the new iPhone 6, including things like praseodymium, gadolinium and terbium. What the heck is terbium? Well, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry, it's rare, silvery and terbium salts are sometimes used in lasers. In your iPhone, however, it could be in the unit that makes your phone vibrate.

Brunning breaks down the iPhone's periodic table in the graphic below (click the image to enlarge).
To jack in to my brain and get more on the latest in science, tech and innovation, follow me on Twitter @ericcmack

I've covered science, technology, the environment and politics for outlets including CNET, PC World, BYTE, Wired, AOL and NPR. I currently produce the Warm Regards podcast and I've written e-books on Android and Alaska.

I began covering Silicon Valley for the now defu...

Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
You've heard about the rumored sapphire screens that didn't show up on the final iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus designs, and by now you know that Pay is a key part of the pitch for the next generation Apple smartphone, but there's also a decent amount of real gold and silver in each iPhone as well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Extraordinary Raw Materials in an iPhone 6s

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Over 700 million iPhones have now been sold, but the iPhone would not exist if it were not for the raw materials that make the technology possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
We live in a complicated world. Our lives are driven by unfathomably complex systems that overlap in a cacophony of technology to deliver us our cellular service, Internet, groceries, health care, transportation, consumer goods, music, TV, movies and everything in between. One of the results of our headlong rush into a technologically augmented world is a veritable mountain of equipment. Our cultural relics are now iPads and iPhones, Androids and laptops, each made up of thousands of components, each component potentially made up of thousands of sub-components themselves.

All of these technological building blocks are constructed using a palette of component materials that span the periodic table. Whereas 50 years ago, our society built most of its material goods out of wood, iron, copper, gold, silver, and a handful of types of plastics, today we require a lot more. A computer chip alone can be made up of more than 60 different elements.

Many of the elements found on our list are categorized as "rare earth elements," a designation that describes 17 elements that are typically found in the same kind of ore and that exhibit similar chemical properties. Rare earth elements aren't actually all that rare in terms of global distribution, but they aren't usually found in dense concentrations. You have to mine a whole lot of ore to get a little bit of a rare earth element.

Rare earth elements have been in the news lately because China, which mines most of the world's rare earth elements, has been slashing export of rare earth elements, prodding nations like the U.S. to turn to its own dormant rare earth mines and production facilities.

Here are 10 elements crucial to modern life that you rely on more than you realize:

Gallium

Gallium is a soft and silvery metal with a melting point just above room temperature. It's chemical symbol is Ga and it has an atomic number of 31.

What it's used in? Nearly all gallium used in industry today goes towards building computer chips and electronics. Gallium is used in doping semiconductors and in blue-light LEDs.

Where it's found? Gallium is a byproduct of the production of aluminum and zinc, both which are mined all over the world.

How rare is it? Not very. Aluminum and zinc deposits are mined on every continent (save Antarctica).

Indium

Indium is a super soft (it's easily cut with a knife) shiny metal with numerous applications in computers and electronics. It's chemical symbol is In and it has an atomic number of 49.

What it's used in?: Indium is used in making LCD screens, computer chips, LEDs and solar panels.

Where it's found? Indium is mostly derived as a byproduct of zinc production, which, as we mentioned, is mined all over the world.

How rare is it? Although zinc is mined all over the world, Scientific American estimates that the world will deplete its known reserves of high-indium ore by 2028. However, there is a lot of work being done to develop new sources for indium and according to a report put out by the Indium Corporation, global indium reserves could be as high as 53,000 metric tons (that's a lot).

Tellurium

Tellurium is a rare and brittle metalloid (an element with attributes of both metals and non-metals) with applications in solar panels and computer chips. It's chemical symbol is Te and it has an atomic number of 52.

What it's used in? Tellurium, in the compound cadmium telluride, is a major component of high-efficiency solar panels. In addition, it's used in making semiconductors and rewritable optical media (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray).

Where it's found? Tellurium is produced as a byproduct of the refinement of copper and is mostly produced in the United States, Japan, Russia and Canada.

How rare is it? Tellurium is relatively rare. It can require 500 tons of copper ore to produce just one pound of tellurium.

Praseodymium

Praseodymium is a soft metal that is used to create strong alloys used in aircraft engines. It's chemical symbol is Pr and it has an atomic number of 59.

What it's used in? Praseodymium is mostly used as an alloying agent with magnesium to craft parts for aircraft engines. It can also be combined with neodymium, another rare earth element, to form high-power magnets.

Where it's found? Praseodymium is found in small amounts within a number of minerals including monazite and bastnäsite, a mineral with wide global distribution. Today, China and the United States produce the majority of the world's supply of praseodymium.

How rare is it? Not very. Though it's not typically found in high concentrations, advances in refining technology means it's easier and cheaper today to derive it from other minerals.

Samarium

In it's pure form, samarium is a silvery white metal valued for its use in manufacturing advanced magnets. It's chemical symbol is Sm and it has an atomic number of 62.

What it's used in? When combined with cobalt, samarium forms into a high quality magnet that's used in headphones, motors, and musical instruments and equipment.

Where it's found? Most of the world supply of samarium is produced in China.

How rare is it? Samarium is relatively abundant and refined as a byproduct of a number of commercially active minerals.

Dysprosium

Dysprosium, a rare earth element, is silvery and soft enough to cut with a knife. It's chemical symbol is Dy and it has an atomic number of 66.

What it's used in? Dysprosium is used in making lasers, in nuclear energy plants, and in magnetic applications like computer hard drives.

Where it's found? Like sarium, dysprosium is a byproduct of the mining of a number of minerals. Almost all of the dysprosium in the world is produced in China.

How rare is it? It's not very rare in terms of global distribution, but almost all the dysprosium in the world is produced in China. The U.S. Department of Energy has identified dysprosium as a critical element for the clean technology industry.

Lanthanum

Lanthanum is a white metallic element with a chemical symbol of La and an atomic number of 57.

What it's used in? Lanthanum is a major component of nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars. It's also used in smaller amounts in carbon arc lamps, used by the television and movie industry, and batteries, arc welding equipment, and as a additive to steel to improve malleability.

Where it's found? Lanthanum production is heaviest in China, the United States, Brazil and India.

How rare is it? Lanthanum is one of the most common of the rare earth elements. Lanthanum comprises up to a third of the overall composition of the composite ores monazite and bastnäsite, both which are heavily mined all over the world.

Neodymium

It's chemical symbol is Nd and it has an atomic number of 60.

What it's used in? Neodymium is most used in combination with praseodymium, another element on our list, to create powerful magnets used in things like headphones, magnets, wind turbines, hybrid cars, computer hard drives, and electric motors and generators. It's also used to color glass and to make lighter flints and welder's goggles.

Where it's found? Neodymium is principally extracted from monazite and bastnäsite ores, which are distributed around the world but chiefly mined in China, the United States, Brazil, India and Australia

How rare is it? Not at all. Neodymium is one of the least rare earth elements.

Photo: Wikipedia

Terbium

Terbium is a silvery soft metal that you can cut with a knife. It's chemical symbol is Tb and it has an atomic number of 65.

What it's used in? Most of the world's output of refined terbium is used to make light bulbs and TV tubes but it's also used in specialized fuel cells that operate at high temperatures, solid state hard drives, naval sonar systems, and in sensors. It is also used to produce laser light and green phosphors in TV tubes.

Where it's found? China again takes the top spot for producing terbium. Southern China has rich deposits of clays containing terbium though it's also present in much smaller concentrations in monazite and bastnäsite, two minerals mined for rare earth.

How rare is it? Moderately so. Most of the world's supply of terbium is in China, but it is found in other minerals mined all around the world.

Photo: Wikipedia

Erbium

Erbium is a rare earth element that, like its chemical cousins, is a silvery-white metal in its pure form. It's chemical symbol is Er and it has an atomic number of 68.

What it's used in? Erbium is used to color lasers, in nuclear power plant technology, and as a doping agent in fiber optic amplifiers. One form of erbium is utilized for its pink color in glass and photographic filters.

Where it's found? Erbium was first discovered in Sweden, though today most of the world's supply is produced in China.

How rare is it? Not very. Erbium is present in ores all over the world. Even though China produces most of the world's supply at the moment, that will change as other countries respond to China's supply clampdown.

Still hunting for more stories about rare earth elements? Check out these MNN stories:

10 elements crucial to modern life that you've probably never heard of

Buried deep in your cellphone, laptop, and flat-screen television are a bevy of obscure elements that make our modern lives possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 elements crucial to modern life that you've probably never heard of

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We live in a complicated world. Our lives are driven by unfathomably complex systems that overlap in a cacophony of technology to deliver us our cellular service, Internet, groceries, health care, transportation, consumer goods, music, TV, movies and everything in between.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Værdikæder Uddrag fra Geografisk Orientering 2014

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The hidden coltan mines in a forgotten corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo fuel our 21st century lifestyle

The black tar-like mineral is the magical component that controls power-flow in your iPhone and Samsung Galaxy

Yet the men who pull coltan from the earth use picks and shovels working in dangerous and pressurised conditions

Many of the mines have been controlled by militia during years of conflict to fund weapons and ammunition for war

In this third dispatch from the DRC, MailOnline visited Luwow mine, which is now a conflict free mine, to find to find hundreds of workers toiling with picks, shovels and pans in scenes use reminiscent of 19th century gold rush

Scraping through shovels-full of silt for the precious mineral with their bare hands, miners use these primitive methods to harvest coltan - the magical conductor that powers your iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or other smartphones.

Covered head-to-foot in the ore-laden mud, hundreds of workers toil for 12 hours a day - in scenes reminiscent of a 19th century gold-rush.

Wielding picks and shovels legions of strong men delve deep into the mountainside to retrieve the precious natural deposit, which enables our high-tech mobile world of emails, social media and the internet.

Loaded into plastic-lined rice sacks miners carry the coltan ore on their shoulders and heads to a primitive sluice where the rock and sand is passed through gallons of water. Panned and filtered by hand the mineral sinks to the bottom as the waste washes away.

The contrast between the 19th cenbtury method in which coltan is mined and the ultra-modern electronic world that mineral-fuelled devices have created is stark.

This dispatch, from the coal-face of the Luwow mine, in the far reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is the latest in a series of MailOnline reports about the unique challenges faced by this troubled nation.

'The materials that enable your smartphone to work come from our mine,' Jotham Uwemeye, Secretary General of the Cooperamma miners' organisation, told MailOnline.

When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge - crucial for the miniature circuit boards that power our smartphones, laptop computers, pagers and many other high-tech devices.

This mine, created by hacking away at the top of a mountain in the heart of Africa, is one of the few places in the world where this rare and sought-after mineral can be found.

Once separated the coltan is bagged and carried by foot or by motorcycle taxi down the crumbling and broken bare earth road to the dust-blown centre of Rubaya, one of a number of country towns at the heart of the DRC's mineral trade.

After their haul is weighed and classified, miners are paid $5 (£3.35) a day for the back-breaking work to dig out the precious mineral that powers our $500 (£335) smartphones.

But with a minimum wage set at $3 (£2.00) a day in the DRC the 1,400-strong work force at Luwow are prepared to endure the gruelling and sometimes dangerous conditions.

Manufacturers Apple, who make iPhones, and Samsung Electronics, who make the Galaxy, admit they use coltan mined in the DRC to make the smartphones that fuel our 24-7 lifestyle.

And Apple says it will continue to do so.

'Apple remains committed to driving economic development and creating opportunities to source conflict-free minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and adjoining countries,' Apple told the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in February this year (2015).

Apple says its suppliers must adhere to its code that; 'every worker deserves to be treated with dignity and respect'.

Samsung says it 'recognises the seriousness of human rights violations and environmental pollution problems of mineral mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo'.

But at the Luwow mine safety procedures are non-existent. A foreman stands over the hundreds of miners urging them to work harder and faster. Accidents are common at DRC mines with seven workers killed at a small coltan excavation site last month when the walls of a poorly-supported tunnel collapsed.

Children as young as 10 can be found working at mines across the DRC although none were present at Luwow when MailOnline visited.

First discovered by Belgian prospectors almost a century ago this mine and dozens of others like it in the DRC's mineral-rich eastern regions, have been exploited by colonialists, dictators and war lords.

The payloads they release - uranium, gold, cassiterite (used to make tin) and now coltan - have fuelled huge advances in the modern world, including the atomic bombs, dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by US forces in World War II.

Uranium extracted from a mine at Shinkolobwe was used to create the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and much of the plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later.

The primitive Belgian colonial-administered excavation site, located in DRC's southern province of Katanga, continued to supply uranium for US nuclear weapons until 1960.

Ownership of many of the country's mines and profits made from them have funded the war that have blighted region for over 20 years.

The CNDP militia have used revenue from the sale of coltan at the Luwow mine to buy weapons and ammunition in their armed struggle against the DRC national army.

A damning United Nations' report in 2001, on the 'Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources', blamed the sale of coltan and other precious minerals to multi-national companies as the 'engine of conflict in the DRC'.

For many years the Luwow mine was controlled by a Rwandan-backed militia group, known as CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the People). The armed group had helped popular leader Laurent Kabila overthrow hated dictator Mobutu Sese Seko 1997 but refused to relinquish control in eastern DRC. The CNDP has been accused of causing huge humanitarian suffering in what became known as the Second Congo War of 2006-2008.

COLTAN: THE MINERAL HIDDEN IN AN AFRICAN MOUNTAIN POWERING YOUR IPHONE

Break-away elements from the militia went on to form the M23 rebel group which brought havoc to eastern DRC in 2012, humiliating the national army and UN peacekeeping forces, and taking control of the city of Goma.

At least 800,000 people were forced from their homes and atrocities against civilians were widely reported, before they gave up their arms.

Minerals extracted from the Luwow mine were sold in Rwanda helping the tiny Great Lakes nation to claim to be the world's largest coltan exporter even though the country has no ore deposits.

However a US law, the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, has led to a clampdown in the use of so-called 'conflict minerals', requiring western firms to determine the origin of suspicious resources used, such as coltan.

The Luwow is among the two-thirds of DRC mines, which had produced so called 'conflict minerals', but which are now no longer run by warlords.

'Every kilo extracted from the mine is given the Luwow ticket to prove it has been taken from a non-conflict mine,' Bernard Ndajisara, Cooperamma transparency agent, told MailOnline.

The Luwow mine was controlled by a rebel militia fighting government forces and using profits to fund its war. The mine is now a workers' cooperative, who sell their mineral to a merchant to export overseas.

'Each bag has the code PB164 stamped on it when it arrives at market in Goma,' Mr Ndajisara added.

M23 leader, General Bosco Ntaganda - known as 'The Terminator', is currently standing trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.

Apple say they are aware of the harm that conflict minerals have caused in the DRC and are 'dedicated to using only conflict-free minerals in our products'.

An Apple spokeswoman added: 'The simplest path to calling Apple products conflict-free would be to redirect our demand through a small subset of smelters that are either conflict-free verified, or aren't sourcing from Central Africa.

'But this approach would do little to influence the situation on the ground, something we care deeply about.

'That's why we have been working to expand the number of verified sources in this region, so that more people can earn a good living, in better conditions.'

Samsung Electronics says it supports the ban on conflict minerals.

A spokeswoman for Samsung Electronics added: 'As a global manufacturer of consumer electronics, we understand the moral and ethical responsibility we have to our consumers and broader society.

'We remain committed to proactively participating in conversations and actions around the world to ban the use of conflict minerals and ensure responsibly source, conflict-free products.'

A United Nations' (UN) helicopter gunship flew past the mountain-top mine during the MailOnline visit.

Three bases, which are less than 50km from the mine, which armed groups had been operating to terrorise the local population were destroyed in the UN military assault, reports the following day revealed.

Promoting sustainable economic growth, creating jobs, promoting peace and establishing the rule of law are among the 17 sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations last month.

The ambitious new set of aims hopes to end poverty, hunger and advance equality and protect the environment over the next 15 years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
iPhone mineral miners of Africa use their bare hands to find coltan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The hidden coltan mines in a forgotten corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo fuel our 21st century lifestyle The black tar-like mineral is the magical component that controls power-flow in your iPhone and Samsung Galaxy Yet the men who pull coltan from the earth use picks and shovels working

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Special report: Revisiting the cobalt-mining boys

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Special report : Inside the Congo cobalt mines that exploit children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cobalt mining for phones: How you could be holding a product of child labour

# data[].attributes.headline
Oversigt (GIS) over fordeling af mineraler i verden.

# data[].attributes.subject
Oversigt (GIS) over fordeling af mineraler i verden.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mineral Resources Online Spatial Data: Interactive maps and downloadable data for regional and global Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Mineral Resources.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif. -- About 60 miles southwest of Las Vegas, in a mine some 500 feet deep, the beginnings of an iPhone come to life.

But the sleek, shiny iPhone is far, far removed from the rocks pulled out of this giant hole, which looks like a deep crater on the moon. A very deep crater. The ground is covered with rust-colored boulders, rocks, and pebbles. The walls etched with striations in varying shades of black, are notched, every 75 feet or so, creating steps that only a giant could use to climb out of the pit.

The base of the mine is several football fields wide. Massive yellow excavators pull huge clumps of dirt from the earth, depositing them into equally giant haulers. And on this baking hot July day, when the temperatures approach 100 degrees, a geyser of water is shooting from a truck, in a never-ending bid to tamp down the dust.

Inside the rocks from this mine are rare-earth minerals, crucial ingredients for iPhones, as well as wind turbines, hybrid cars, and night-vision goggles. Minerals such as neodymium are used in magnets that make speakers vibrate to create sound. Europium is a phosphor that creates a bright red on an iPhone screen. Cerium gets put into a solvent that workers use to polish devices as they move along the assembly line.

"Your iPhone doesn't work without rare earths in there, " said Mark Smith, chief executive of Molycorp.

What's unique about Molycorp is that it's trying to harvest rare-earth minerals in an environmentally friendly way, or at least as environmentally friendly a way as a mine can manage. The company has come up with a proprietary method that it believes is the answer to the toxic mess that's defined much of the world's rare-earth mining. And if Molycorp executives are correct, they may be modernizing rare-earth mining in a way that could force Chinese competitors to improve the way they operate.

"We started working at trying to do things differently," Smith said during a tour of the mine.

That's important, because in China, which produces more than 90 percent of the world's supply of rare-earth minerals, environmental laws have historically been scant and enforcement lax. The center of rare-earth mining there is Baotou, a city in Inner Mongolia with 2.3 million residents that's become something of a poster child for mining's ecological wreckage.

By some accounts, the smog in Baotou can be dense, the air acrid. But the biggest hazard is an artificial "tailings" lake west of the city, where refineries that process the rare-earth minerals dump their waste. A Daily Mail reporter, who sneaked past guards and climbed sand dunes to reach the rim of the lake, described it as " an apocalyptic sight."

"The lake instantly assaults your senses. Stand on the black crust for just seconds and your eyes water and a powerful, acrid stench fills your lungs," the article read.

A separate report in The New York Times noted that the lake wasn't lined properly when it was built decades ago. As a result, radioactive waste has seeped into the ground. Farmers have complained that their plants can't grow in the region and that their animals have become sick. Villagers near the lake complain of teeth failing out and hair turning prematurely white.

Chinese state media reported that a 2006 study by local authorities showed levels of radioactive thorium in soil near the lake were 36 times higher than other areas of Baotou. Thorium is typically found in the same ore as rare-earth minerals and separated out during processing. Exposure to high levels of thorium can cause lung and pancreatic cancer.

Molycorp's Smith believes his company can rewrite the way vital rare-earth minerals are mined and processed. Molycorp machines are now pulling some 2,800 tons of fresh ore from the ground in Mountain Pass per day, four days a week. Those rocks are hauled to a massive crushing facility, a warren of tubes and conveyer belts that ultimately lead to a silo where the ore gets pounded into pieces about three-eighths of inch wide.

Those pebbles then move via conveyer belt to a mill, a long rectangular building, high on a plain overlooking the Mountain Pass site. There, they get mixed with water and dumped into a giant cylinder with large steel balls. The mixture turns into a slurry that moves to a so-called hot floatation facility.

See also: When recycling your iPhone is actually bad for the environment

Molycorp adds chemicals to the mix that, when heated, cling to the rare-earth minerals and rise with the bubbles that float to the top. The company then skims off the rare-earth concentrate.

The remainder, about 92 percent of the entire mix, has no commercial value. In Baotou, that mix, which includes slightly radioactive thorium and uranium and other toxic chemicals, goes into the tailings lake. Because it's still liquid, the waste can leach into groundwater, creating environmental hazards. Molycorp's proprietary process presses the water out of the tailings in order to reuse it. What's left is a paste, to which Molycorp adds cement and then lays out in a lined disposal site.

"One thing you won't see at Mountain Pass is a pond of radioactive waste," Molycorp's Smith said. "No tailings pond, no worries about contaminated groundwater."

(The story continues below. Click on the image to download the infographic.)

Mark Hobbs/CNET

The rare-earth concentrate heads to a separations facility, where acids are added to pull apart the different rare-earth minerals. Eventually, the separate elements are dried, and the powder versions of neodymium, europium, and the rest are bagged up and sold to customers, some of them Apple's partners that make the speakers, the screen, and the vibration unit that comprise an iPhone.

"We are well indoctrinated into that iPhone," Smith said. "We're an important and indispensable part of that iPhone."

You get the sense walking around Mountain Pass with Smith, even in his oh-so-out-of-place business suit and tie, that there's no place he'd rather be. Square-jawed and sporting a crew cut, Smith says he could talk about rare-earth minerals all day. He mentions dinners with his wife, when he points to all the different objects in the restaurant that wouldn't exist without rare-earth minerals (which makes me think Mrs. Smith is an awfully tolerant woman).

Smith, a lawyer with a degree in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University, wants to rewrite the global rare-earth mining playbook. He believes Molycorp, which invested $895 million to modernize the mining operations here, could seize as much as a third of the global market for rare-earth minerals when the revamped Mountain Pass facility becomes fully operational next year.

Can Molycorp compete with its Chinese rivals? Jack Lifton, founding principal at the mining research firm Technology Metals Research, notes that China has developed "a technically sophisticated rare-earth processing industry and a strong academic community in the rare-earth chemistry and processing fields." While the Chinese don't elaborate on their costs, Lifton is dismissive about any claims that Molycorp can significantly undermine rivals' costs.

The Chinese government has also increased efforts to reduce the ecological damage of rare-earth mining. It's instituted quotas and restricted exports of the minerals in recent years, in part because the government has ramped up environmental oversight, though many suspect the move was also intended to drive up prices.

"There are a lot of things that the rare-earth industry should not be proud of over there," Molycorp's Smith said about the environmental mess in China. "But I'll give China credit. They are stepping up their environmental regulation." The Chinese government recently released a report detailing some of those environmental efforts, including new laws focused on water pollution and treatment and plans to enforce them.

There's little doubt the environmental cost of creating an iPhone, as well as those wind turbines, hybrid engines, and the bevy of other technical wonders that use rare-earth minerals, has been immense.

But regulatory pressure, coupled perhaps with the market forces of the new Molycorp mine, could be the start of a cleaner rare-earth mining industry.

From rocks to recycling: The life of an iPhone
Yesterday: We looked at the human toll of creating iPhones, and the activists pushing to improve working conditions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Digging for rare earths: The mines where iPhones are born

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
MOUNTAIN PASS, Calif. -- About 60 miles southwest of Las Vegas, in a mine some 500 feet deep, the beginnings of an iPhone come to life. But the sleek, shiny iPhone is far, far removed from the rocks pulled out of this giant hole, which looks like a deep crater on the moon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Verdens største producenter af smartphones er afhængige af kobolt fra miner i DR Congo. Selskaberne bag, benytter børnearbejde under livsfarlige forhold.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Apple Chinese Factories Exclusive Production

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's one big problem, though.

Not many people have heard of Fairphone, a Netherlands-based smartphone start-up, but it could be changing how phone businesses are run. Unlike the leading brands, Fairphone is committed to ethically manufactured smartphones.

The Fairphone 3 was set to release later this year, but in May, the company announced that the new model had been canceled. Instead, there will be big improvements to the Fairphone 2, starting with improved outer casing and a new version of Android. The company has explicitly stated that this recent move is because they want their phones to last much longer than others.

Unlike companies such as Apple, Fairphone doesn't actually want people upgrading to a new model. This is a pretty radical stance for a smartphone company. It's odd, then, that the Fairphone isn't a bigger deal right now, given that it occupies a wholly unique space within the market.

While it's certainly making a splash - the company's CEO just won the Global Economy Prize 2018 - the company isn't making any huge leaps in sales and canceling a new release might harm it further, despite its reasons being very much in line with its unique voice in the tech market.

Fairphone uses eco-friendly and recycled products, and the company checks that the production of the phone is as free from exploitation as it can be on every step of the manufacturing chain. Factory workers are paid fairer wages and raw materials are mined using local companies that employ safer conditions and benefit the community. This doesn't mean they're perfect, though.

Most companies source cobalt, an essential material for cell phone batteries, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is mined by children. Fairphone is not exempt from this practice; it also sources its cobalt from mines in the DRC, but it uses small-scale mines where there can be transparency and some progress. On their blog, the company has stated that "actions to improve the mining sector are...urgent."

This approach might seem like the bare minimum, but considering what is prevalent now, it's a big deal. Apple, Sony and Blackberry manufacture their products at Foxconn factories in China, where working conditions are so bad that there have been instances of employees committing suicide from the factory roof. Foxconn's response was to install nets.

Samsung Factories, also in China, have similarly horrific conditions where human rights abuses are reportedly committed. There's even an app called Phone Story, which Apple quickly banned from its App Store, that shows the brutal reality of smartphone manufacture, taking a player through levels representing each step in the process.

Fairphone still manufactures in China, using a Singapore company called Hi-P, which has generally better conditions. However, their own research found that many Hi-P factory workers sometimes worked over 60 hours a week and that they get one - occasionally zero - days off per week.

This practice is far from fair trade and it's something the company needs to improve upon if they're to fully commit to their vision of ethical manufacturing. At least Fairphone's own investigations and studies means these problems are being noticed and addressed, not swept under the rug.

Fairphone also aims to give a better experience to the consumer. iPhones, in particular, are infamous for being intentionally difficult to fix. It's challenging to get an iPhone repaired by anyone who isn't an official Apple technician - you can't even remove the phone's back without using tools and risking losing your phone's warranty.

It often seems like companies such as Apple modify their products strategically, such as removing the headphone jack, to generate extra profit. To counteract this frustrating situation, Fairphone aims to make their phones long-lasting and easy to repair, even selling spare parts so you can do it yourself.

The decision to cancel the new model and release improvements to the current one, instead, reflects Fairphone's user-friendly stance and could be seen as a turning point: If people realize that there's no reason to replace their phones as often as they do, phone companies can't be as ruthless, and the market will become more sustainable and eco-friendly.

In our current climate of increased concern for the environment, awareness of global human rights abuses and widespread frustration towards Apple's policies and design choices, Fairphone could be doing just the right things to make it become the next big thing in smartphones. It's a breath of fresh air among a depressing resignation toward the hard facts of how our commodities are made.

All this doesn't change the fact that so far, the Fairphone 2 hasn't been a huge success. Part of this could be the fact that the European company is still small and feels remote to American and Asian consumers. However, the company's foreign location isn't it's only downfall - there are other issues that need to be resolved for the product to succeed.

First, its price tag: the Fairphone 2 costs approximately $621. It's no cheaper than many of its more well-established competitors (the iPhone X costs $999). The new updates, OS, and improved parts all aim to increase the life of the Fairphone 2, which will reduce the cost long-term.

However, that's not necessarily going to convince buyers, especially when an expectation of replacing parts means money is still shelled out as the phone ages. That's a big problem when Samsung and Apple in the U.S. and Huawei and Oppo in China have a near-total monopoly. To challenge that monopoly, the Fairphone needs to really stand out as a better choice.

A second, more noticeable problem: The first and second Fairphone models are just kind of ugly. Compared to the ultra-thin iPhone X and the never-ending screen of the Galaxy Edge, the Fairphones frankly look a little like a supermarket own-brand knock-off. On the bright side, the Fairphone 2's new transparent case option is pretty cool and it allows the viewer to see how the internal parts interlock. Apart from that, however, the design doesn't stand out.

This eco-friendly company has a lot of work ahead in order to break out of the "concerned consumers" niche and into the mass market. Fairphone needs to find a way to make their product affordable, stylish and better to use if it's going to compete with the giants like Apple and Samsung - not to mention committing more fully to their ethical stance.

Luckily, they seem to be taking on those tasks with their efforts to upgrade the Fairphone 2. Smartphones are so central to people's everyday lives, so it's urgent that they become less harmful and the corporations behind them are held accountable. Fairphone has the opportunity to change this, or at least raise awareness. Hopefully, canceling the new model was the right choice, and with the improved current model, they can grab this opportunity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fairphone, the Ethical Cell Phone, Wants to Change the Future of Smartphones

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's one big problem, though. Not many people have heard of Fairphone, a Netherlands-based smartphone start-up, but it could be changing how phone businesses are run. Unlike the leading brands, Fairphone is committed to ethically manufactured smartphones. The Fairphone 3 was set to release later this year, but in May, the company announced that the new model had been canceled.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
... men Kina sidder solidt på produktionen af de sjældne jordarters metaller, som er centrale i produktionen af for eksempel smartphones, tablets og vindmøller.

Dysprosium, gadolinium, yttrium ... Navnene lyder eksotiske, som man kan forvente, når det drejer sig om den gruppe af grundstoffer, der går under betegnelsen 'de sjældne jordarters metaller'.

Det er misvisende.

"De er ikke sjældne. De findes i rå mængder. Der er nok til 800 år", siger Per Kalvig, leder af Center for Mineraler og Materialer på Geus.

Navnet på gruppen skyldes, at stofferne blev anset for sjældne, da de begyndte at blive identificeret, første gang med prøver fra den svenske landsby Ytterby i 1787.

Siden 1960'erne er de sjældne jordarters metaller blevet udnyttet kommercielt. Først blot nogle få af dem i olieindustrien, men i de seneste årtier er de alle taget i brug i batterier, magneter, vindmøller, led-lys, i forsvarsindustrien og en masse andre steder. Vores smartphones er fyldt med dem: De sikrer farverne på skærmen, og de indgår i vibratoren og i magneterne i mikrofonen og højttaleren.

Alligevel levede de en upåagtet tilværelse i forhold til den brede offentlighed indtil en forsyningskrise i 2010-11, som førte til en fire- til nidobling af priserne i løbet af mindre end et år. Og det blev klart for resten af verden, at det måske ikke var hensigtsmæssigt, at Kina sad på 95 procent af markedet.

Det er heller ikke nødvendigt. De 'sjældne' jordarter er ikke specielt svære at finde. At udtrække dem fra mineralerne er heller ikke et stort teknisk problem - hvis man ser bort fra, at de ofte findes sammen med uran. Men tekniske og økonomiske problemer gør det vanskeligt at få nye produktioner i gang.

"Problemet er, at de sjældne jordartsmetaller ligger i den samme 'suppe' og skal separeres fra hinanden for at kunne bruges af industrien. Og et separationsanlæg er en milliardinvestering", forklarer Per Kalvig.

Voldsomme prisstigninger

Sammensætningen varierer fra mine til mine. Der er gennemgående rigelige mængder af to af metallerne fra den 'lette' gruppe, lanthan og cerium, hvor priserne følgelig er lave. Mens der for eksempel er mangel på et metal som dysprosium fra den 'tunge' gruppe, der især indgår i magneter i vindmøller.

Siden de voldsomme prisstigninger i 2010-11 er Kinas markedsandel faldet fra 95 procent i 2010 til 80 procent i 2015. Kineserne havde brugt deres dominerende stilling til at presse konkurrenterne, og flere miner i andre lande var lukket, men nu er miner i Australien og USA begyndt at øge deres produktion.

Genanvendelse er derimod kun meget, meget langsomt ved at komme i gang, og Kina er stadig altdominerende inden for gruppen af de tunge sjældne jordarters metaller.

En rapport udarbejdet i 2014 af Erecon (The European Rare Earths Competency Network) for EU minder om, at Kina faktisk har brugt mange penge på at udvikle udvinding og behandling af de sjældne jordarters metaller. I stedet for at skælde ud på det kinesiske næsten-monopol skulle europæerne hellere overveje, hvad de kan gøre for at skaffe mere bæredygtige leverancer i form af nye miner eller genanvendelse af stofferne.

200 potentielle mineprojekter

Verden over er omkring 200 potentielle mineprojekter ved at blive undersøgt, fortæller Per Kalvig. Heraf er måske ti projekter meget langt fremme i undersøgelserne, men det er formentlig også for mange, for ifølge Erecon-rapporten vil en enkelt mine være nok til at dække Europas behov. Det kunne være i Grønland, hvor der er store forekomster i Kvanefjeld og i formationen Kringlerne, begge i Sydgrønland. Også Sverige har et projekt, som er meget langt fremme.

Men selv om de sjældne jordarters metaller indgår i et stigende antal produkter, er der tale om ret små mængder. I modsætning til 'store' metaller som jern og kobber handles de sjældne jordarters metaller ikke på børser, men på enkeltkontrakter. Det gør det svært at rejse penge til miner og separationsanlæg.

Ifølge Per Kalvig tager det op til 15 år at forvandle en nyfundet lovende forekomst af sjældne jordarters metaller til en mine. De nye projekter, der er på vej, er stadig flere år fra at kunne begynde at sende metaller på markedet.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
De sjældne jordarter er ikke sjældne ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
men Kina sidder solidt på produktionen af de sjældne jordarters metaller, som er centrale i produktionen af for eksempel smartphones, tablets og vindmøller. Dysprosium, gadolinium, yttrium ... Navnene lyder eksotiske, som man kan forvente, når det drejer sig om den gruppe af grundstoffer, der går under betegnelsen 'de sjældne jordarters metaller'.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The GCC is expected to account for 13 per cent of the world's total aluminium production by the end of 2013, with total output estimated to reach five million tonnes per year by 2014.

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), Emirates Aluminium (Emal), Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum) and Sohar in Oman collectively produced 3.73 million tonnes of primary aluminium in 2012, up seven per cent from 3.48 million tonnes in 2011, according to the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC).

The region is ramping up production even as global demand for aluminium is anticipated to reach 70 million tonnes per year by 2020.

Abu Dhabi's Emal plans to increase production capacity to 1.3 million tonnes by 2014 and the Ma'aden Aluminium Complex in Saudi Arabia's Ras Al Khair, a $10.8 billion joint venture with Alcoa, will have a total output of 740,000 tonnes per year when complete.

Here are the top 10 operational primary aluminium smelters in the world by capacity, as of December 2012.

1. Name: Huomei Hongjun Aluminium Smelter

2. Name: Dubai Aluminium Co (Dubal)

3. Name: Krasnoyarsk Aluminium Works (BrAZ)

4. Name: Bratsk Aluminium Works (BrAZ)

5. Name: Aluminium Bahrain (Alba)

6. Name: Xinjiang Easthope Coal Power & Aluminium

7. Name: Emirates Aluminium (Emal)

8. Name: Dongfang Xiwang Aluminium Smelter Innermongolia

9. Name: Xinfa Group

10. Name: Hillside Aluminium

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 10 Largest Aluminium Smelters In The World - Gulf Business

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The GCC is expected to account for 13 per cent of the world's total aluminium production by the end of 2013, with total output estimated to reach five million tonnes per year by 2014.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Figure 1. Cassiterite (SnO ₂), the sole source of commercial tin. Credit: Mineral Information Institute.

Figure 2. Tin is extracted from cassiterite by the ore being crushed (1) and passed through a sink-float separation system (2). The washed ore is roasted in an oxidizing atmosphere (3) to remove arsenic and sulfur. Tungsten is removed by electromagnetic separation (4). The tin oxide is then roasted in a blast furnace (5) with coke (6). The tin produced is refined in a reverbatory furnace (7). The slag produced from the blast furnace is reworked and the tin obtained is also refined in the reverbatory furnace. Further refining takes place to remove any remaining impurities (8), before the tin is pressed and rolled (9).

Tin (Sn) is a malleable, fairly soft, silvery-white, metallic element in group 14 (old group IVA) of the periodic table. Tin exhibits allotropy: white (β) tin, the normal form, changes below 13.2°C to gray (α) tin, a powdery metalloid form resembling germanium, and known as "tin pest."

In antiquity, tin was used in the alloy bronze, but compositions were variable. Indeed it is thought that the first discovery was due to accidental smelting of mixed ores of copper and tin.

Occurrence and extraction

Tin occurs mainly as cassiterite (tin dioxide, SnO ₂), from which it is obtained by smelting with coal (see Figure 2).

Cassiterite

Cassiterite, the chief of tin, is a mineral consisting of stannic oxide (SnO ₂) with iron impurity. Cassiterite is usually translucent brown to black, with submetallic luster. It forms short tetragonal prismatic crystals, but is usually massive granular. It occurs in placer deposits, chiefly in the Malay Peninsula, and in pegmatites and other intrusive, igneous rocks. Hardness 6-7, specific gravity 6.8-7.1.

Uses of tin

Tin is mainly used for electroplating or in combination with other metals as an alloy. Pure tin is used principally for coating steel to prevent corrosion. The tin is applied in a layer, 6 x 10⁻⁶ millimeter (2.5 x 10⁻⁶ inch) thick, by either dipping the steel into molten tin and rolling, or more commonly by electrolysis. Tin-coated steel is used extensively in the preparation of cans used for food storage because it is not poisonous.

As an alloy, tin is used in solders, where its low melting point is an advantage, and in bronze, pewter and various other alloys used in machine bearings. Because of its low melting point and resistance to atmospheric corrosion, tin is used in modern glass-making processes where the molten glass is floated on a layer of molten tin in a hermostatically controlled bath and allowed to congeal. The resulting glass is so smooth that it needs no polishing or grinding.

Organic compounds of tin have wide applications as chemical stabilizers and biocides for crop spraying. They do not contaminate the soil permanently because the chemicals break down to harmless inorganic compounds.

Chemistry of tin

Tin is unreactive, but dissolves in concentrated acids and alkalis, and is attacked by halogens.

Compounds of tin

Tin forms organotin compounds, used in biocides, and also inorganic compounds: tin (II) and tin (IV) salts.

Tin chloride

Tin forms two chlorides: tin (II), or stannous, chloride (SnCl ₂), and tin (IV), or stannic, chloride (SnCl ₄). Tin (II) chloride is a white, soluble solid, which can be produced by dissolving tin in hydrochloric acid. It is used as a reducing agent and also as a constituent of tin-plating electrolytes. Melting point 246°C, boiling point 652°C. Tin (IV) chloride is a colorless, fuming liquid. It is used in the preparation of other inorganic tin compounds and organic tin (organotin) compounds. When sprayed onto glass and fired, it produces a conductive coating.

Tin oxide

Tin also forms two oxides: tin (II), or stannous, oxide, SnO, a black powder used as a reducing agent, and tin (IV), or stannic, oxide, SnO ₂, a white powder (sublimes at 1,800°C), The latter is prepared by calcining cassiterite (in which it occurs naturally) or burning finely divided tin. SnO ₂ is used in ceramics, glass, and cosmetics, and as an abrasive.

Tinner's rabbits

Tinner's rabbits is a name that has emerged recently to describe a pattern of three rabbits or hares that has been found in many parts of the world, including England and Wales, mainland Europe, China, and Russia. It occurs, for example, on the medieval roof bosses of some churches in Devon and Cornwall and is thought to be connected with the local tin-mining industry. One theory suggests the following link: Tin is alloyed with copper to make bronze, copper came from Cyprus (the words Cyprus and copper have the same root), Cyprus is the island of the goddess Venus or Aphrodite (she was born there), rabbits are symbols of Venus. Three intertwined fishes are a common Christian symbol, so the three rabbits may also have stood for the Trinity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Figure 1. Cassiterite (SnO 2), the sole source of commercial tin. Credit: Mineral Information Institute. Figure 2. Tin is extracted from cassiterite by the ore being crushed (1) and passed through a sink-float separation system (2). The washed ore is roasted in an oxidizing atmosphere (3) to remove arsenic and sulfur.

# data[].attributes.headline
Apples liste over smeltere og raffinering

# data[].attributes.subject
Apples liste over smeltere og raffinering

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Den måde, dine Apple-produkter er fremstillet på, afspejler vores værdier. Værdier, der handler om menneskene i vores forsyningskæde og om planeten.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Animated global statistics that everyone can understand

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mineral Resources Database | Minerals Education Coalition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Mineral Database containing 84 minerals, photos & descriptions. The Minerals Education Coalition's (MEC) mission is to identify, produce and disseminate fact-based K-12 minerals education lessons and activities and to inform and educate the general public about the importance of mining in their everyday lives.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/02/lithium-is-fueling-technology-today-at-what-cost/