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Article: Rare earths: seeds of high technology.
- Article from:
- Ceramic Industry
- Article date:
- October 1, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 BNP Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The term rare earth is a misnomer. When first identified, rare earths were given the name because they were originally obtained from rare minerals.
Today, through the development of modern processing techniques, rare earths are readily available and have growing uses in everyday life.
In industry circles, rare earths are normally expressed in terms of rare earths oxides (REO). However, for convenience, the terms are interchangeable. They are generally classified into three groups: light, medium and heavy. Rare earth resources
The three common ores containing rare earths are monazite, which occurs naturally and is the principal source in ...