Introduction and uses of rare earth elements

Rare earth minerals, also known as rare earth element minerals or rare earth metal minerals, mainly exist in the form of minerals in the earth's crust. As the basic constituent elements of minerals, they are present in the mineral crystal lattice in the form of ionic compounds and constitute essential components of minerals.

There are 17 elements in rare earth minerals, namely lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium ( Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y), these elements are extremely precious and are countless The main raw materials for high-precision industries have important economic and strategic value.

From metallurgy, petroleum, chemicals, glass, ceramics, to electronics, people's livelihood, to stealth fighters, nuclear submarines and guided missiles, every industry is inseparable from rare earths, so rare earths are also called "universal earths".

The rare earth element lanthanum is a necessary material for optical instruments and a main element in military equipment. When combined with gadolinium and samarium, it can be made into military radiation-proof coatings.

Rare earth elements - europium and yttrium, are the main materials for TV and computer display screens. They determine the brightness and clarity of TV and computer screens.

The rare earth element - neodymium, is the main factor that determines the pixels of cameras and mobile phones. Whether the photos are clear or not depends entirely on it.

Although the amount of rare earth elements is very small, adding trace amounts of rare earth elements to other raw materials can greatly improve product quality and performance. Therefore, rare earth elements are also known as the "vitamins" of modern industry.

The world uses rare earths, but not all the world has rare earths, and not all the world has rare earth beneficiation technology. At present, only China has a complete rare earth industry chain.

So why is rare earth ore selection so difficult?

Mainly because of the complex mineral properties of rare earth mines, high technological requirements, lack of talents, and rare earth mine pollution problems.