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Selten Metal
Selten Metal
Selten Metal

Powering YOUR LIFE and global innovation

Electric and hybrid vehicle motors | Rechargeable batteries | Electric brakes | Electric bikes and electric scooter motors | Wind turbines generators | Mobile phone vibration | Laptops/home theatres/TVs/tablet speakers | Headphones | Printers | Ovens and microwaves | Dishwashers | Washer and dryers | Air conditioning | Industrial motors and pumps | Elevators and escalators | Industrial robots | Cordless power tools | Aerospace | Aircraft engines | Defense Radar | Drones | MRIs | Nuclear medicine | X-rays | Cancer treatments | Levitating rail | Marine propulsion | Computer memory | Water purification | Baggage scanners | Lasers | Stress gauges | High-strength magnets | Nuclear fuel rods | Smartphones | Power steering / sunroof / mirrors / locks / seats | Mass spectrometry | GPS | Digital screens | Protective glass | LED lighting | Camera lenses

What are rare earth elements?
And why are they so important?

From the vibration of your smartphone and the electric vehicle you drive, to the offshore wind turbines generating clean energy for your home. That airplane on your next vacation. The MRI machine creating detailed images of the body. Rare earth elements are used in the manufacturing and powering of an endless list of products essential to our everyday lives. These are the elements that will drive the future of our climate economy.

Known as the lanthanide series on the periodic table, these fifteen chemically related minerals are collectively called ‘rare earths.’ Rare earth elements are actually found broadly dissipated all over the world. What makes them “rare” is finding them in high enough concentrations at a single location to make their extraction economically viable. 

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China currently controls approximately 90% of global rare earth processing and global rare earth magnet production. 80% of the world’s rare earth supply comes from just this one country. Demand for rare earths is growing at an exponential rate as nations work to build a sustainable energy future. We are realizing the necessity for securing domestic and regional sources for critical rare earth elements.

The value of global rare earth oxide consumption is expected to triple by 2035, from US$15 billion in 2022, to US$46 billion (Adamas Research).

What are the Critical 4 required for permanent magnets?

The Critical 4 rare earth elements are vital for continual production of permanent magnets. They are considered to be the most valuable of all rare earths, and urgent to a sustainable future. But they are not often found in economic amounts on the same project: Selten’s THOR Project is a remarkable exception.

The Critical 4 consist of:

Neodymium (light), Praseodymium (light), Dysprosium (heavy), and Terbium (heavy).

These four elements are responsible for approximately 95% of the total value of global rare earth oxide (TREO) consumption in 2022 (Adamas Research). Why? In a word, “magnets.” Permanent Magnets being essential to clean energy.

The Critical 4 – which are vital for clean energy production on a global scale – plus all 11 other naturally occurring rare earth elements have been confirmed by surface assays at Selten’s THOR Project. Results are consistent with a historical drill discovery that took place at the property in 2011.

discover. rare. energy.

Selten Metal Corp.

Yttrium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Yttrium is used in ceramics, catalysts, lasers, metallurgy, and phosphors.

End use products include: 

– Camera lenses 

– Increasing the strength of aluminum and magnesium alloys 

– Yttrium iron garnets which enhance satellite communication 

Lanthanum

Light Rare Earth Element

Lanthanum  is used in catalysts, ceramics, glass, polishing compounds, metallurgy, and batteries. 

End use products include: 

– Hybrid vehicle batteries 

– High quality camera and telescope lenses 

– Night vision goggles 

 

Cerium

Light Rare Earth Element

Cerium is used in catalytic converters, ceramics, glass, metallurgy, and polishing compounds. 

End use products include: 

– Catalytic converters to reduce carbon monoxide emissions 

– Additive to diesel fuel to improve engine performance 

– Carbon-arc lighting, especially in the film industry 

Praseodymium

Light Rare Earth Element

Praseodymium is used in permanent magnets, batteries, aerospace alloys, ceramics, and colorants.

End use products include:  

– Permanent magnets – created together with Neodymium, Terbium and Dysprosium and used in computers, smart phones, headphones, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, medical equipment, power tools, and much more 

– Fiber optic cables as a signal amplifier 

– High-strength metal for aircraft engines 

– Hybrid vehicle batteries 

Neodymium

Light Rare Earth Element

Neodymium is used in permanent magnets, rubber catalysts, and in medical and industrial lasers.

End use products include:  

– Permanent magnets – created together with Praseodymium, Terbium and Dysprosium and used in computers, smart phones, headphones, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, medical equipment, power tools, and much more 

– Hybrid vehicle batteries  

– Eye protection for blacksmiths and glass blowers 

– Medical and industrial lasers 

Samarium

Light Rare Earth Element

Samarium is used in permanent magnets, nuclear reactors, and cancer treatments.  

End use products include: 

– Nuclear reactors as a neutron absorber 

– Headphones and guitar pickups 

– Cancer treatments 

Europium

Light Rare Earth Element

Europium is used in phosphors and nuclear control rods.

End use products include: 

– Nuclear reactors as a neutron absorber

– TV screens and computer monitors 

– Compact fluorescent bulbs 

 

Gadolinium

Light Rare Earth Element

Gadolinium is used in medical imaging, permanent magnets, and metallurgy.   

End use products include: 

– Medical imaging contrasting agents for clearer, brighter MRI images 

– Magnetic refrigeration 

– Alloys of iron and chromium to improve resistance to high temperatures and oxidation 

Terbium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Terbium is used in permanent magnets, fiber optics, lasers, and solid-state devices 

End use products include: 

– Permanent magnets – created together with Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Neodymium and used in computers, smart phones, headphones, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, medical equipment, power tools, and much more 

– Fiber optics 

– Naval sonar systems and sensors 

– TV screens and computer monitors 

Dysprosium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Dysprosium is used in permanent magnets, data storage, and lasers.

End use products include: 

– Permanent magnets – created together with Praseodymium, Neodymium and Terbium and used in computers, smart phones, headphones, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, medical equipment, power tools, and much more 

– Nuclear reactors 

– Data storage devices 

– Naval sonar systems and sensors 

 

Holmium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Holmium is used in permanent magnets, nuclear control rods, and lasers.

End use products include: 

– Solid-state lasers for non-invasive medical procedures 

– Nuclear control rods 

– Atomic data encoding  

Erbium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Erbium is used in fiber optics, optical amplifiers, lasers, and glass colorants.

End use products include: 

– Fiber optics 

– Cosmetic laser treatments – tattoo removal, skin resurfacing 

– Dental surgery 

 

Thulium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Thulium is used in various metal alloys and in lasers. 

End use products include: 

– Portable x-rays 

– Lasers 

– Euro banknotes as a counterfeit measure 

Ytterbium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Ytterbium is used in catalysts, scintillometers, lasers, and metallurgy  

End use products include: 

– Stress gauges to monitor earthquakes 

– Nuclear medicine to study the brain 

– Stainless steel alloy to improve grain refinement and strength 

Lutetium

Heavy Rare Earth Element

Lutetium is used in scintillators for medical imaging, electronics, and cancer therapies.

End use products include: 

– Positron emission tomography (PET) medical scans that creates a three-dimensional image of the body’s cellular activity 

– Cancer therapies  

– Dating meteorites and minerals