Documents

• The Discovery of the Rare Earth Elements Information Provided as a Service of Lynas Corporation, Lynas || Bigsight Blog
  The discovery of the elements we today call rare earths reads like a detective story. For more than a century, the rare earths, which include lanthanum and the 14 elements following it in the lanthanide series on the periodic table, as well as scandium and yttrium, proved difficult to isolate, extract, and identify. Many of these elements, which share similar chemical and physical properties, lay concealed one within another in the same mineral samples. Renowned chemists of the 19th century, including the Swedes Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Carl Gustaf Mosander, pursued the search.

  Most of the rare earths were first extracted in Scandinavia, and the Swedish village of Ytterby lent its name to several of them after Johan Gadolin isolated the metallic oxide yttria (as in the element yttrium) in 1794. In 1803, Berzelius discovered cerium, named for the newly discovered asteroid Ceres, and the most abundant of the rare earths. Mosander, who died in 1858, identified lanthanum (Greek for “to be concealed”) from a sample of cerium in 1839; he also discovered erbium, terbium, and didymium. Scientists at the end of the 1800s realized that didymium was actually two elements, praseodymium (“green twin” in Greek) and neodymium (“new twin”).

  The second half of the 19th century saw the discovery of most of the other rare earths. Holmium was named for the city of Stockholm, scandium for Scandinavia, and thulium for Thule, an ancient name for the same region. Ytterbium, like yttrium, erbium, and terbium, derives its name from Ytterby. Europium, the most highly reactive of this group, was discovered in 1896. Samarium was named for the mineral samarskite, and gadolinium for the pioneering chemist. Though more common than mercury or uranium, most rare earths proved challenging to extract in usable quantities, as reflected in dysprosium’s name (“hard to get at”).
  
  

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  Lutetium (named for the ancient word for Paris) was discovered in 1907, and in 1912, chemists predicted the existence of promethium, although the element named for the Greek god Prometheus was not verified until 1947.

  Lynas Corporation, based in Sydney, is poised to become a leader in the global market for rare earth elements, vital to today’s high-technology industries. The company operates a mine at Mount Weld in Western Australia and has completed an advanced materials processing plant in Malaysia. For more information, visit LynasCorp.com.

• Reusing Waste Created in Rare Earth Element Processing by Lynas Corporation
  While the recycling of rare earth elements (REEs) has become increasingly common as the demand for these materials intensifies, the REE industry has also recently dedicated itself to exploring options for reusing and recycling the residues produced during the initial processing of these elements into commercial applications. Lynas Corporation Ltd., an ASX 100 company formed in Sydney, has several plans to reduce the environmental impact of its forthcoming Malaysia-based processing facility, the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP).

  The LAMP’s processing residues are expected to be converted into non-hazardous and usable co-products for commercial applications, allowing Lynas Corporation to reduce its waste and requirement for long-term storage. By recycling its manufacturing residue as synthetic gypsum, the company creates a useful product for the building and agricultural sectors. Ensuring safety, the International Atomic Energy Association has declared Lynas as fully compliant through a comprehensive review. Residue from the REE processing facility, can be made into useful co-products that further add value to the Lynas supply chain system while reducing the impact the company has on the environment.

• Neodymium: Driving Technological Innovations
  Prepared by the Staff of Lynas Corporation

  A flexible, malleable rare earth element in the
  lanthanide series on the periodic table with an atomic number of 60, neodymium offers as a variety of applications in today’s alternative energy and other industries. The silvery-white substance forms oxides easily when exposed to air. Its pronounced paramagnetic properties make it an ideal component of the spindle magnets that power wind turbines and computer hard drives and the powerful magnets that drive generators and motors engineered for higher performance levels.

  Discovered in the late 19th century, neodymium exists in the earth’s igneous rocks at twice the level of lead, thus making it one of the most common rare earths, so named because of the difficulty associated with their extraction. In addition to its uses as a magnet, the steel and electronics industries employ it in various alloying processes and in the manufacture of electronics for the consumer market, respectively. Along with lanthanum and cerium, neodymium holds a place as one of the elements that make up Misch metal, the flammable substance used in flint lighters.

  Relied upon by the ceramics and glassware industries to create glazes and pink-to-purple pigments, neodymium also finds wide use as a component in several types of contemporary lasers and the glass used in fiber optic production. In combination with its fellow lanthanide praseodymium, neodymium functions as an absorption agent that filters out harmful light spectra from goggles that shield the eyes of glassblowers and welders.

  Australia-based Lynas Corporation aims to achieve a position as a key supplier of rare earth metals to global industry. The fast-growing, environmentally conscious company operates a mine in Western Australia at Mount Weld and an advanced materials plant in Malaysia.

• Lynas Corporation, Ltd.: Common Mineral Sources of Rare Earths
  Over the past decade, Lynas Corporation has established a reputation as one of the top processors of rare earth elements outside of China. Its advanced materials processing plant in Gebeng, Malaysia, is designed to process up to 22,000 tonnes of rare earth oxide (REO) per year.

  Despite their name, rare earth elements are actually abundant in the earth; however, they are not found on their own in concentrated amounts. Rare earths typically occur in complex mineral compounds such as monazite, xenotime, and bastnasite.

  Monazite: One of the most common mineral sources for rare earth elements, monazite typically contains a greater concentration of light rare earth elements than heavy ones.

  Xenotime: The third most viable rare earth element source mineral, xenotime features a high ratio of heavy rare earth elements and can contain significant quantities of yttrium.

  Bastnasite: By far the most viable source for rare earth elements in the world, bastnasite is a fluorocarbonate mineral that contains considerable levels of yttrium, neodymium, lanthanum, and cerium.