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What is Neodymium?

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Tags: Rare Earth Minerals

Neodymium is a soft silvery metal in the rare earth grouping. Although classed as a "rare earth" it is not rare as compared with many metals, and is widely distributed in the Earth's crust. The bulk of the world's neodymium, however, is presently mined in China.

Neodymium compounds were first commercially used as a glass dye in 1927 and they remain a popular additive in glass. Neodymium-doped glass is also used in lasers emitting infrared light with the wavelength of 1.054-1.062 micrometers. Neodymium is also used with various other supporting crystals, such as in Nd:YAG lasers, which typically generate 1.064 micrometer light. This is one of the most significant solid-state lasers.

Neodymium's other chief application is as a free element, used as an alloy constituent of high strength neodymium magnets, the strongest permanent magnets known. These are used wherever low mass, small volume, or strong magnetic fields are required. Larger neodymium magnets are used in high power/weight electric motors (for example in hybrid cars) and generators (for example aircraft and wind turbine generators).

Neodymium compounds include:

  • Didymium
  • Neodymium aluminium borate
  • Neodymium(III) chloride
  • Neodymium(III) oxide
  • Neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride

Neodymium is never found in nature as the free element; rather, it occurs in ores such as monazite and bastnaesite that contain small amounts of all the rare earth metals. The main mining areas are China, United States, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia; and reserves of neodymium are estimated at about 8 million tonnes.

References:

(en.wikipedia.org) Neodymium

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