rare metals brief introduction

Rare precious metals, also known as rare metals, are rare element metals. Common rare metals include tantalum, niobium, hafnium, lithium, titanium, radium, etc.

Rare elements refer to the general term for elements that are rare in reserves and distribution in nature (generally with a crustal abundance of less than 100ppm) and are rarely used by humans. Rare elements are commonly used to manufacture special metal materials, such as special steel and alloys, and are critical materials in industrial fields such as aircraft, rockets, and atomic energy.

According to their different physical and chemical properties and production methods, they can be divided into:
(1) rare light metals such as beryllium, lithium, rubidium, cesium, etc;
(2) Rare and precious metals such as platinum, iridium, osmium, etc;
(3) Rare dispersed metals such as gallium, germanium, indium, thallium, etc;
(4) Rare earth metals such as scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, etc;
(5) Refractory rare metals such as titanium, zirconium, tantalum, vanadium, niobium, etc;
(6) Radioactive rare metals such as polonium, radium, actinium, uranium, plutonium, etc.

Rare metals usually refer to metals with low content or scattered distribution in nature.
They are difficult to extract from raw materials and were prepared and applied relatively late in industry. But it has a wide range of applications in modern industry, such as manufacturing special steel, superhard alloys, and high-temperature resistant alloys, in the electrical industry, chemical industry, ceramic industry, atomic energy industry, and rocket technology.

The names of rare metals have a certain degree of relativity. With extensive research on rare metals, the discovery of new sources and extraction methods, and the expansion of their application scope, the boundary between rare metals and other metals will gradually disappear. For example, some rare metals have a higher content in the earth's crust than metals such as copper, mercury, and cadmium.

Some rare metals have similar physical and chemical properties and are not easily separated into single metals. In the past, it was rarely produced and used, hence it is named rare metal. The term "rare element" existed in the 19th century, and in the 1920s, it was named "rare metal" based on this. Rare metals were developed relatively late, so they are sometimes referred to as new metals. Since World War II, due to the development of new technologies and the increasing demand, research and application of rare metals have developed rapidly, and new metallurgical processes have emerged continuously. The production of these metals has also gradually increased. Rare metals are no longer scarce. The metals included in rare metals are also changing, such as titanium, which is increasingly widely used and produced in modern technology, and is sometimes classified as a light metal.

The report states that computers, rechargeable batteries, hybrid vehicles, GPS systems iPad, Almost every technology used in gaming devices and daily life involves at least one of these rare metal elements.

Rare and refractory metals include hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, molybdenum, titanium, zirconium, and tungsten. The melting point is relatively high, and the compounds formed with carbon, nitrogen, silicon, boron, etc. also have a high melting point.

Rare dispersed metals, abbreviated as dispersed metals, include gallium, indium, thallium, germanium, rhenium, as well as selenium and tellurium. Most of them occur in minerals containing other elements.

Rare earth metals, abbreviated as rare earth metals, include scandium, yttrium, and lanthanide elements. Their chemical properties are very similar and they coexist with each other in minerals.

Rare radioactive metals include naturally occurring francium, radium, polonium, and actinide metals such as actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium, as well as artificially manufactured technetium, promethium, other actinide elements, and elements 104 to 107.

The above classification is not very strict. Some rare metals can be classified into both this and another category. For example, rhenium can be classified as a rare scattered metal or a rare refractory metal.

Many varieties of rare metals have radiation and pollution effects, such as nickel, francium, radium, polonium, thallium, and actinide metals such as actinium, thorium, protactinium, uranium, etc. Their storage conditions must be non open warehouses. If they are soaked in rainwater and then flow underground, it will contaminate drinking water sources. The storage warehouse should be far away from residential areas, schools, and hospitals.

In addition, some areas with severe radioactive metals need to be separated from the city and stored separately after being wrapped in multiple layers of lead drums.