Erbium (Er)

Atomic Number: 68 • Group: HREE

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167.259

Erbium

HREE

Primary Uses

Fiber optics, Amplifiers (EDFA), Special metallurgical alloys

Scarcity & Economic Profile

Crustal Abundance

3.0-3.8 ppm

Primary Economic Driver

Fiber optic cables

Geological Scarcity

LowMediumHighExtremeTotal

Supply Risk

N/ALowMediumHighExtreme

Primary Mining Countries

China Myanmar

Primary Processing Countries

China Japan

Sources - Crustal Abundance

Rudnick, R. L., & Gao, S. (2003). Composition of the Continental Crust. Treatise on Geochemistry, 3, 1-64.
Taylor, S. R., & McLennan, S. M. (1985). The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Wedepohl, K. H. (1995). The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59(7), 1217-1232.
U.S. Geological Survey. (2026). Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026. U.S. Department of the Interior.

Short Description

Erbium is indispensable to global telecommunications infrastructure through erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which boost optical signals in long-distance fiber optic cables. This enables high-speed internet and data transmission across continents without signal degradation.