There are 75 elements required to build a modern smartphone and a fair number of those have to be extracted from the ground. It’s crazy to think that little device that connects you to the world is essentially refined rocks and petroleum.

These are the elements that are used to make your smartphone.

Indium, Tin, Oxygen, aluminium, Silicon, Yttrium, Europium, Terbium, Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Dysprosium, Gadolinium, Copper, Silver, Gold, Tantalum, Lead, Nickel, Neodymium, Antimony, Arsenic, Phosphorus, Gallium, Carbon, Magnesium, Bromine, Lithium, and Cobalt.

Western Australia’s contribution to the world’s minerals supply:

Iron Ore 33%, Rare Earths (These include; yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium) 18%, LNG (Natural Gas) 14%, Diamonds 11%, Alumina 10%, Ilmenite 10%, Nickel 7%, Gold 6%, Zircon 4%, Salt 4%, Cobalt 4%, Rutile 12%,

SOURCE: jtsi.wa.gov.au