The rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of seventeen chemical elements on the periodic table: scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.  The rare earths exhibit unique chemical properties that make them highly valued in a wide variety of applications.Rare-earth elements (REE) are fundamental components of quite 200 products across a good range of applications, especially high-tech consumer products, like cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and televisions.  Significant defense applications include electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems.  Although the quantity of REE utilized in a product might not be big by weight, value, or volume, the REE is always indispensable for the device to function.