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The principal sources of rare-earth elements are the minerals bastnäsite (RCO 3 F, where R is a mixture of rare-earth elements), monazite (XPO 4, where X is a mixture of rare-earth elements and sometimes thorium), and loparite ((Ce,Na,Ca)(Ti,Nb)O 3), and the lateritic ion-adsorption clays.
The rare earth element neodymium is found in monazite, making it a rare mineral. [25] Moreover, monazite contains many other rare metals such as cerium , lanthanum , praseodymium , and samarium, making it a critical source of renewable energy. [ 26 ]
Neodymium is a fairly common element in the Earth's crust for being a rare-earth metal. Most rare-earth metals are less abundant. Neodymium is classified as a lithophile under the Goldschmidt classification, meaning that it is generally found combined with oxygen. Although it belongs to the rare-earth metals, neodymium is not rare at all.
A piece of yttrium. Yttrium is difficult to separate from other rare-earth elements. Rare-earth elements (REEs) come mainly from four sources: [58] Carbonate and fluoride containing ores such as the LREE bastnäsite ((Ce, La, etc.)(CO 3)F) contain on average 0.1% [15] [56] yttrium compared to the 99.9% for the 16 other REEs. [56]
This is done to coat the various types of rare earth metals with either flocculent, collectors, or modifiers for easier separation in the next step. Flotation using the previous chemicals to separate the gangue from the rare-earth metals. Concentrate the rare-earth metals and filter out large particles. Remove excess water by heating to ~100 °C.
The Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility, owned by MP Materials, is an open-pit mine of rare-earth elements on the south flank of the Clark Mountain Range in California, 53 miles (85 km) southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2020 the mine supplied 15.8% of the world's rare-earth production.
"If rare earth elements are the crude oil of the 21st century, then Central Asia and Mongolia may be the Saudi Arabias of these strategic minerals," wrote Wilder Alejandro Sánchez, an analyst at ...
Xenotime, a mineral source of rare earth elements including terbium Terbium occurs with other rare earth elements in many minerals, including monazite ( (Ce,La,Th,Nd,Y)PO 4 with up to 0.03% terbium), xenotime ( YPO 4 ) and euxenite ( (Y,Ca,Er,La,Ce,U,Th)(Nb,Ta,Ti) 2 O 6 with 1% or more terbium).