Platinum
Platinum is a member of the platinum group of elements and group 10 of the periodic table of elements. It has six naturally occurring isotopes. It is one of the rarer elements in Earth's crust, with an average abundance of approximately 5 μg/kg. It occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits, mostly in South Africa, which accounts for 80% of the world production. Because of its scarcity in Earth's crust, only a few hundred tonnes are produced annually, and given its important uses, it is highly valuable and is a major precious metal commodity.
Neodymium
Neodymium is rarely found in nature as a free element, but rather it occurs in ores such as monazite and bastnäsite (these are mineral group names rather than single mineral names) that contain small amounts of all rare-earth metals. In these minerals neodymium is rarely dominant (as in the case of lanthanum), with cerium being the most abundant lanthanide; some exceptions include monazite-(Nd) and kozoite-(Nd). The main mining areas are in China, the United States, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. The reserves of neodymium are estimated at about eight million tonnes. Although it belongs to the rare-earth metals, neodymium is not rare at all. Its abundance in the Earth's crust is about 38 mg/kg, which is the second highest among rare-earth elements, following cerium. The world's production of neodymium was about 7,000 tonnes in 2004. The bulk of current production is from China. the Chinese government has imposed strategic material controls on the element, raising some concerns in consuming countries and causing skyrocketing prices of neodymium and other rare-earth metals. As of late 2011, 99% pure neodymium was traded in world markets for US$300 to US$350 per kilogram, down from the mid-2011 peak of US$500/kg. The price of neodymium oxide fell from $200/kg in 2011 to $40 in 2015, largely due to illegal production in China which circumvented government restrictions. The uncertainty of pricing and availability have caused companies (particularly Japanese ones) to create permanent magnets and associated electric motors with fewer rare-earth metals; however, so far they have been unable to eliminate the need for neodymium.