Monazite

A crystal of monazite

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Monazite is a mineral and an ore of rare earth elements. Chemically, it is a mixture of phosphates of lanthanide elements and thorium.

Refining

Dissolving monazite with sodium hydroxide makes a slurry of metal oxides. Adding hydrochloric acid makes a solution of lanthanide chlorides and a residue containing thorium dioxide. The exact process can vary depending on specific properties of the mineral.

References

  1. ↑ N.N. Greenwood & A. Earnshaw (1998). Chemistry of the Elements (2 ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 1230. ISBN 978-0-7506-3365-9.