The rare earth elements are a group of very similar metals. Their individual properties differ enough one from the other: some are soft while others are hard, some very vulnerable to oxidation while others are air stable and so on. But their relationship to the other elements in the periodic table is so frustratingly similar that it makes disentangling them a major chore. This is because, after all, one uses chemistry to tease them apart.

Terbium is one metal that the automotive world in particular is very interested in getting and is happy to pay refineries to go through the trouble of separating and refining it to a vberu high degree of purity. This is because it has near-unique magnetic properties that are essential for the mass production of electric motors in electric vehicles. Without terbium these motors would be less efficient, more costly and heavier. Fortunately, despite belonging to the ill-named “rare earths” family, there is no shortage of this metal. There is, however, a bottleneck in that the only country in the world making it in sufficient quantities is China which, of course, makes the Western world nervous. If this country were to choke that supply it would spell catastrophe for the global economy.

In the meantime, here’s your opportunity to own a little of this fascinating metal.