China's Rare Earth Elements Industry - Foreign Military Studies Office

Nonferrous metals – Anything (metal, alloy, compound, etc.) that does notcontain iron.Ore - A mineral/rock that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined.Organic Chemistry – The scientific study of the structure, properties,composition, reactions, and preparation of chemical compounds that containcarbon.Oxide – An oxide is any compound of oxygen with another element or radical.*Praseodymium – This rare earth element comprises only 4 percent of thelanthanide content of bastnaesite, but is used as a common coloring pigment.Along with neodymium, praseodymium is used to filter certain wavelengths oflight. So praseodymium finds specific uses in photographic filters, airport signallenses, welder's glasses, as well as broad uses in ceramic tile and glass (usuallyyellow). When used in an alloy, praseodymium is a component of permanentmagnet systems designed for small motors. Praseodymium also has applicationsin internal combustion engines, as a catalyst for pollution control.Pyrophoric alloy – An alloy that emits sparks when struck or scratched withsteel; used in lighter flints.Rapidly Solidified magnets – NdFeB magnet materials, which when in themolten state, the liquid alloy is dropped on a rapidly spinning Cu wheel and thealloy solidifies very rapidly in the form of fine (thin) ribbons. These ribbons arebroken up into small pieces and held together with a molten plastic binder whichthen is cooled to room temperature - these are called the "bonded magnets".About half (dollar wise) of the rare earth magnets sold are bonded magnets;volume wise these amount to approximately 2/3 of the market.Rubidium – An element classified as a metal. It is number 37 on the periodictable. It is not a rare earth element.*Samarium - A rare earth element that has properties of spectral absorption,making it useful in filtering glasses that surround neodymium laser rods.Scandium – While scandium is not classified as a lanthanum, it is considered arare earth element and falls on the periodic table as element number 21. It isused to produce high performance materials in both the aerospace and sportinggoods industries. It is also used in lighting, lasers and consumer electronics.Sintered magnets – Magnets formed by heating metal powders without melting.SmCo – Samarium cobalt permanent magnet.33