FAQs & Glossary
Do you supply rare earth metals with standard sizes?
We supply the RE metals meeting your custom demand in a short turn-over time.
How long will it take to receive your price quotation?
Usually, take 1-3 working days. However, if we are not able to supply the magnets you need, such as, either the size is too big, or the shape is too complicated, we may not provide you with our price quotation.
What is your lead time after I place a purchase order?
Usually, take 4-5 weeks. For a large production quantity purchase order, say ten thousand pieces, it may take a longer time.
What kind of payment do you accept?
Company’s checks, credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, and American Express), personal checks, ACH and wire transfer.
What does the packaging of rare earth metal products look like?
REE metal: Vacuum packaging, oil seal plus vacuum for rare earth metals that are easily oxidized (La, Ce, Eu, Sm, etc.).
What are the types of rare earth metals?
Reduced and distilled. Distilled has higher purity, mainly these elements: Y、Yb、Sc、Tm、Lu
Purity on Rare Earth Oxide Basis.
In the rare earth industry, chemical purities of rare earth oxides and compounds are often presented on a rare earth oxide basis (REO basis), i.e., the content of a specific rare earth oxide in comparison to total rare earth oxides (TREO) present: REO/TREO. The statement of “Yb2O3 > 99%”, often means Yb2O3/TREO > 99%. To obtain the absolute purity of a specific oxide, you can use the formula: REO/TREO x Percentage of TREO in the material.
Purity on Rare Earth Metal Basis.
In the rare earth industry, chemical purities of rare earth metals are often presented on rare earth metal basis (REM basis)), i.e., the content of a specific rare earth metal in comparison to total rare earth metals (TREM) present: REM/TREM. The statement of “Yb> 99%” often means Yb/TREM > 99%. To obtain the absolute purity of a specific metal, you can use formula: REM/TREM X Percentage of TREM in the material.
Price Calculation of Rare Earth Compounds.
In rare earth industry, a formula is used to calculate the actual prices of rare earth compounds, such as carbonate, hydroxide and chloride: Actual price of rare earth compound = Price of 100% of TREO (Total rare earth oxide) X Percentage of TREO in the compound. For instance, if price of a cerium carbonate [Ce(CO3)3·xH2O] is quoted as TREO: 45%, Price: $7.63/kg X TREO. Thus, the actual price of the Cerium carbonate is $7.60/kg x 45% = $3.42/kg.
What is REE?
REE or Rare Earth Elements are 17 chemical elements.
The group of rare earth elements is sub-divided into the heavy rare earth elements (HREE) and the light rare earth elements (LREE):
Are Rare Earth Elements actually ‘rare’?
They were thought to be when they were discovered in the late 18th century. However, it is hard to find them in concentrations that are economically viable to exploit, and hence they are ‘rare’. The strict mining laws in European countries make these particularly valuable for Europe. Rare earth metals are particularly challenging to extract because they are often found together and it requires a lot of chemistry and metallurgy to separate them from each other and purify them. These mines also typically contain radioactive thorium, which has to be handled separately.
LREE = light rare earth elements (Sc, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, and Gd; also known as the cerium group)
HREE = heavy rare earth elements (Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu; also known as the yttrium group)
What are the most important properties of REEs?
Magnetism, luminescence, and strength.
Where are REE used?
Their properties, notably as light-weight magnets, make them key to the ongoing miniaturization of electronics and the growth of green technologies. They are used in a wide range of products we use every day, including hard drives, earbud speakers, microphones in small gadgets, smartphones, flat-screen TVs, automotive application, motors, generators, etc.
** Phosphor is the luminescent material critical to many lighting applications, especially LEDs. Most white LEDs are in fact blue LEDs with a phosphor coating. Phosphor absorbs the light at the blue wavelength and reemits the photons at longer wavelengths.
Which are top three nations with the most REE reserves in the world?
Approximately half (55 million MT) of the world’s total reserves (130 million MT) is in China. The next biggest reserve of about 22 million MT is in Brazil. Australia stands third with 3.2 million MT of REE reserves.
Which are the top three nations in the production of rare earth elements?
1. China (Almost 92-95% of REEs production is in China). Mine Production: 105,000 tons
2. Australia. Mine Production: 10,000 tons
3. United States. Mine Production: 4,100 tons
Which are the most important ores of the REEs?
Rare earths are relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust but discovered minable concentrations are less common than for most other ores. World resources are contained primarily in bastnäsite and monazite.
Bastnäsite deposits in China and the United States constitute the largest percentage of the world’s rare earth economic resources, while monazite deposits in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the United States constitute the second largest segment.
What else is interesting about REE?
Scandium (Sc) is more abundant in the Moon than on Earth.
Samarium (Sm) chloride taken internally in the proper quantity will combine with alcohol and keep you from becoming drunk
Europium (Eu) is used in anti-counterfeiting fluorescent phosphors in Euro banknotes
Ytterbium (Yb) lasers are used to drill into diamonds to remove imperfections.
Lutetium (Atomic Number 71) is named after Lutetia where it was first found, the city that later became Paris.