Bastnasite dysprosium

Dysprosium is the 43rd most abundant element on Earth and ranks ninth in abundance of the rare-earths found in the Earth s crust. It is a metallic element that is usually found as an oxide (disprosia). Like most rare-earths, it is found in the minerals monazite and allanite, which are extracted from river sands of India, Africa, South America, and Australia and the beaches of Florida. It is also found in the mineral bastnasite in California. 

Holmium is obtained from monazite, bastnasite and other rare-earth minerals as a by-product during recovery of dysprosium, thulium and other rare-earth metals. The recovery steps in production of all lanthanide elements are very similar. These involve breaking up ores by treatment with hot concentrated sulfuric acid or by caustic fusion separation of rare-earths by ion-exchange processes conversion to halide salts and reduction of the hahde(s) to metal (See Dysprosium, Gadolinium and Erbium). 

The dysprosium in monazite and bastnasite is first converted to dysprosium trifluoride (DyF3). The compound then reacts with calcium metal to obtain pure dysprosium ... 

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