Trading of individual rare-earth marketable products on the russian market

Abstract

In 2014, world rare-earth mine production was 125,000 metric tons (t) of rare-earth oxide (ReO) and was primarily from the minerals bastnäsite, loparite, monazite, and xenotime (tables 1, 6). China continued to dominate the global production and consumption of rare-earth metals and compounds. Rare-earth ores were mined primarily in China, with smaller amounts mined in australia, India, Malaysia, Russia, thailand, the United states, and Vietnam (table 6). In the United states, mining and processing of rare-earth ores and concentrates took place at the Mountain Pass Mine in California and, owing to processing issues, production decreased to 5,400 t. Prices for most rare-earth metals and compounds declined significantly relative to those in 2013 (table 3).the rare earths are a moderately abundant group of 17 elements comprising the 15 lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium. the lanthanides are the elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, in order of atomic number: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium. In rock-forming minerals, rare earths typically occur in compounds as trivalent cations in carbonates, oxides, phosphates, and silicates (Mason and Moore, 1982, p. 46).A rare-earth element (REE) can be classified as either a light rare-earth element (LREE) or a heavy rare-earth element (hRee). the LRees include the lanthanide elements from atomic number 57 (lanthanum) through atomic number 64 (gadolinium), and the hRees include the lanthanide elements from atomic number 65 (terbium) through atomic number 71 (lutetium). The division is based on the LREEs having unpaired electrons in the 4f electron shell and HREEs having paired electrons in the 4f electron shell. scandium (atomic number 21), a transition metal, is the lightest REE but it is not classified as one of the group of LRees nor one of the hRees. scandium is a soft, lightweight, silvery-white metal, similar in appearance and weight to aluminum. although its occurrence in crustal rocks is greater than that of lead, mercury, and the precious metals, scandium rarely occurs in concentrated quantities because it does not selectively combine with the common ore-forming anions.Yttrium (atomic number 39), a transition metal, is chemically similar to the lanthanides and commonly occurs in the same minerals as a result of its similar ionic radius. Yttrium is included as an HREE even though it is not part of the lanthanide series.The elemental forms of rare earths are iron-gray to silvery lustrous metals that are typically soft, malleable, ductile, and usually reactive, especially at elevated temperatures or when finely divided. Melting points range from 798 °C for cerium to 1,663 °C for lutetium. The unique properties of rare earths make them useful in a wide variety of applications such as batteries, catalysts, magnets, nonferrous alloys, phosphors, and polishing compounds. the principal Ree-bearing ore minerals are bastnäsite, loparite, monazite, xe...