[rellimpank]

------There can be, and often is, radioactive residue in the vicinity of mineable rare earths.--

--can you name one example of where this is the case?

[jimpick]

—can you name one example of where this is the case?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“The primary source of the world’s thorium is the rare-earth and thorium phosphate
mineral monazite”

Follow this link

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/thorium/thorimcs07.pdf

[epithermal]

Monazite in placers is/was produced in places for rare earths. Has thorium in it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monazite

[muawiyah]

Yeah, in China for one. There've been reports things got out of hand in non-regulated mines kept secret from the authorities by their operators.

Just do a google search for rare earth mining radioactivity and you'll find about half a million articles covering the problem.

THORIUM is also found with its products so sometimes there's "radioactivity", and though small, there are some real limits on mining it easily, handling it, and processing it.

You can't just take thorium out and dump it in a ditch somewhere!

Uh, thorium is not exactly a waste product because we have available to us processes that can use it as a source of radioactivity to produce energy.

Frankly, when I sit down for breakfast in the morning and cut that egg in two I don't want it glowing back at me eh! Best to keep the rare earth mining materials segregated from EVERYTHING ELSE ~ I'm picky that way, but I bet the miners are too. Of course, with them, it's more personal. They don't want their fingers glowing green in the dark!