What exactly are "rare resources and critical materials"?

It all started back in the industrial revolution...

The industrial revolution started in Europe in the 19th century, resulting in a massive explosion of manufactured goods of all types. What did all these new activities have in common? They all relied on the intensive use of the planet's vast reserves of raw materials, which had been patiently stored in the earth for millions of years - primarily coal and iron, the catalyst of many innovations and new industries.
The industrial revolution then spread around the world. Manufacturing procedures multiplied and became more complex until they achieved the level of sophistication we find today. These developments also massively expanded the range of raw materials we use; in fact, practically every element on the periodic table has one industrial use or another. Some of these elements are naturally abundant while others are only found in very small quantities. Their physico-chemical properties are harnessed into the areas that define our modern lifestyles: energy, transport, communication, medicine, building, etc.

An ecological awakening: the finite nature of the world

The  late 20th century saw an ecological awakening. People started thinking  about the impact of human activities on the environment, which paved the  way for the concept of "sustainable development": how can we produce  what we need without destroying the eco-systems necessary for human  survival and without depleting the earth's finite resources?
A  fundamental resource used in all chemical and energy industries, oil has  been key to raising our awareness; in just a century we have consumed  practically the entire planet's vast oil reserves - which took millions  of years to form. On a human scale, oil reserves can never be  reconstituted. We must find alternatives if we want to continue driving,  heating our homes, manufacturing packaging and medicine, etc.
Symbolic  of the challenge faced by modern human societies, the oil issue is  applied by scientists and manufacturers to all natural resources that we  consume in order to manufacture goods and run the services necessary to  maintain our our current quality of life. This has motivated much  research and innovation in the renewable energy field (wind power, solar  power, biomass fuel, etc.) and has encouraged the emergence of the  so-called "circular economy": because we can not extract more resources  than Mother Nature has stored in the earth then in order to continue  manufacturing new products we must recuperate and re-use materials  extracted from objects that have come to the end of their lifecycle. A  modern illustration of Lavoisier's famous saying "In nature nothing is  created, nothing is lost, everything changes.”

A new situation: the ubiquity of electronics

It goes without saying that this approach is easier to imagine than to implement. It poses a multitude of technical and economical problems that humankind is only just beginning to tackle. In particular and in terms of managing "rare" materials; there are a whole range of metals and minerals present in small quantities in nature (like gold or silver) including deposits that are especially difficult and costly to mine. 
It is paradoxical that these rare materials are in increasing demand. They are used in the manufacture of electrical components, which are now ubiquitous in all industries. Cars, household appliances, IT equipment, telecoms, etc.; more and more everyday objects incorporate chips, screens, connectors and sensors, which require the ultra sophisticated properties of these very rare metals and minerals.

Numerous factors contributing to the rarity

Limited resources in increasingly high demand: this is the crux of the problem. According to the law of supply and demand, this situation will inevitably lead to the long-term increased costs of these materials, upsetting current business models. If certain elements are extracted at the same pace as they are today, they will only last for a few more years. 11 for antimony, 20 for gold and zinc, 38 for copper, etc.
However, the absolute quantity of these materials is not the only factor which contributes to their rarity. Tensions also arise due to their unequal distribution around the globe. The metals and minerals used in electronic components and ICT equipment are often found in high concentrations only in certain areas, e.g. China has 97% of "rare earth"  deposits; Congo 40% of cobalt; Bolivia 40% of lithium, etc.

Concentrated – and thus high risk - production

This concentration could result in certain countries playing the 'monopoly card' by preventing competing countries from accessing key resources. The risk to the global supply of certain raw materials increases in the event of geo-political instability or natural catastrophes. An earthquake or conflict erupting in a key raw material production area severely affects - or stops - international industry.
The conditions under which these raw materials are extracted is also a cause for concern. Many of the deposits are found in countries with underdeveloped economic and social conditions with all that entails in environmental and human terms: pollution in and around the mines, unsatisfactory health and safety rules, forced labour, etc. And let's not forget politically unstable areas where precious resources (such as blood diamonds) are often used to fund conflicts and crime. Multinationals' standards in terms of corporate and environmental responsibility are higher, so suppliers of raw materials that only respect minimum ethical criteria are gradually being excluded, thus further limiting potential supply sources.
These short and long-term trends are inciting large companies like Orange to question their dependence on these materials and, more generally, industrial processes based on the intensive exploitation of underground deposits.

 * "Rare earths" refer to around fifteen metals, which are fairly common in the earth's crust but which are very difficult to extract and produce in large quantities Used in hi-tech industries, these metals are so strategic that countries do not give much information about the reserves they hold. China, which supplies over 90% of the world's rare earths, estimates that it only possesses 30% of the global reserve...

Rare materials… everywhere!

The list of rare materials critical to an industry varies significantly depending on the industry or official body. Generally, we find well-known metals and alloys such as gold, silver, copper, zinc and tin. But also more exotic elements found in everyday objects: europium, terbium and yttrium for LED lamps, rhenium (aeronautics), indium (flat screens and solar panels), technetium 99 (medical imagining), beryllium, scandium, gallium, tantalum, niobium, etc.

Gold: the most famous of all rare metals

This precious metal has been used to make jewellery and coins since time in immemorial. Its excellent anti-corrosive and conductivity properties make gold the number one choice for electronics. It is found in very small quantities in everyday objects such as mobile phones and stereos, usually in the form of contractors.